“It’s really difficult for me to say” - Dmitry Menshikov still feels the sting of defeat he suffered against Regian Eersel at ONE debut

Losing doesn't sit well with Dmitry Menshikov, especially one that had a world title on the line. Menshikov had the opportunity of a lifetime when he challenged Surinamese phenom Regian Eersel for the ONE lightweight Muay Thai world title in his ONE Championship debut in June 2023.

That dream debut, however, turned into an absolute nightmare when Eersel separated Menshikov from his senses 46 seconds into the main event of ONE Fight Night 11.

Menshikov has bounced back from that loss, at least on the record books, but the sting of that defeat has remained with him since.

After scoring a knockout win over Sinsamut Klinmee at ONE Fight Night 22, Menshikov admitted in his post-fight interview that he still doesn't like talking about the defeat to Eersel.

"You know, it's really difficult for me to say anything about the title fight, especially about the strategy. It's difficult for me to say, at the same time I don't want to say much about it," said Dmitry Menshikov.

There is no official word yet, but Menshikov could get back to the world title picture after he racked up three straight knockout wins since his loss to Eersel.

Menshikov scored two consecutive first-round knockout wins against Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong and Mouhcine Chafi in 2023 before starting his 2024 campaign with an electrifying finish of Sinsamut this past weekend.

Sinsamut had early control of the match and had the hometown fans at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok singing to his every strike.

Menshikov, however, lit up in the third and unleashed a barrage of punishment that quickly folded Sinsamut near the ropes for the knockout win.

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Dmitry Menshikov lives up to his villain role in complete dismantling of Sinsamut Klinmee

Dmitry Menshikov knew the Bangkok crowd would be thoroughly against him at ONE Fight Night 22, and he completely took delight when he silenced them with his KO of their hometown hero.

Sinsamut Klinmee was in control in the early moments, but that didn't last long when Menshikov went berserk and unloaded every possible strike that quickly folded the Thai star in the third:

"You know, like, to be honest, I [didn't] care. I didn't think about it much. But yeah, at the same time, it was against a pretty different-styled Thai fighter. One of the best, so of course, all the crowd was supporting him," said Menshikov in the post-fight interview.