“Never say never” - Regian Eersel says he’s young, not ruling out transition to MMA

ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion Regian Eersel has a chance for a second world title in his next match. But more than that, he could jump to mixed martial arts down the line and maybe capture a third belt to add to his already illustrious career.

Before he makes any transition though, Eersel will first take on Sinsamut Klinmee for the inaugural ONE lightweight Muay Thai world title. The blockbuster bout is scheduled for ONE on Prime Video 3 at the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur on October 21.

During the card’s virtual press conference, Eersel said a switch to MMA is not an outlandish idea for him. The 29-year-old is still in his athletic prime and it wouldn’t be too far-fetched if he eventually jumps into the multi-faceted sport.

Regian Eersel said:

“Maybe [I’d switch to MMA]. Never say never. I don’t know what the future will bring, but I’m open. I’m only 29 years old, so I still have about 10 years to go!”

Eersel is one of the top pound-for-pound strikers in ONE Championship and his perfect 7-0 record in the promotion can attest to that.

The six foot two striker doesn’t just use his height and length to tag opponents from a distance. He’s also one of the most agile fighters and he’ll use that movement to punish any poor soul who's locked with him inside the circle.

The Surinamese-Dutch superstar beat Nieky Holzken to become the inaugural ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion and has since defended the gold four times. Eersel’s latest world title defense saw him outpoint Arian Sadikovic en route to a unanimous decision win at ONE 156 this past April.

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Regian Eersel explains his mentality during fights

Regian Eersel displays a calm and sometimes cold demeanor during his fights and he’s not one to get too hyped up during his matches. Even his ring walk has such a somber feel that the nickname 'The Immortal' fits his persona perfectly.

Although he’s now more of a stoic than anything else, Eersel recalled a time when his emotions got the better of him.

Speaking to Younes Belguebli, host of The Success Show, Regian Eersel recounted his early days as a fighter and when one of his opponents got under his skin.

“Yes, it was in Turkey. I had to fight the Turkish guy. Turkish people are crazy man, but in a good way. In the staredown, he came in my face, he was pushing me, and I was like, ‘Ok,’ then I pushed back and then everyone in the room was like, ‘Oooohhhh they’re going to fight tomorrow!’”

He added:

“I [fought] with a lot of aggression [in] the fight. When you go with a lot aggression into a fight, you’re gonna make mistakes. I did make mistakes but I wanted [the] KO, but you know, when I re-watched the fight, I was thinking, 'I should’ve contained my aggression and I let it all out,' and then you’re going to make mistakes.”

Catch a clip from the podcast appearance below: