Nieky Holzken talks about his close loss to Arian Sadikovic: “I thought I won the fight”

Nieky Holzken shared his disappointing reaction after losing against Arian Sadikovic this past weekend in Bangkok.

On June 9, Holzken returned to the ONE lightweight kickboxing division, and things didn’t go as planned. After three hard-fought rounds, Sadikovic emerged victorious by unanimous decision. Shortly after the loss, ‘The Natural’ posted a reaction video on Instagram and had this to say:

“Hey people, I’m back in the hotel. I just fought my fight with Arian Sadikovic. They gave him a unanimous decision when I thought I won the fight, the first and third round, but it is what it is. I want to thank my fans, my family, my wife, my children. I want to thank everybody that helps me and supports me, all my sponsors, and I want to thank ONE Championship, and Chatri also. I’m not happy, but it is what it is.”

Nieky Holzken’s loss at ONE Fight Night 11 puts him in an unexpected position moving forward. The 39-year-old proved he has plenty of gas left in the tank. With that said, there isn’t much for him to accomplish if he can’t make his way back to a world title fight.

Meanwhile, Arian Sadikovic secured a much-needed win to get back on track. Before defeating Nieky Holzken, ‘Game Over’ lost a unanimous decision against two-sport world champion Regian Eersel for the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title. Sadikovic could get another chance to dethrone Eersel in his next fight.

For those that missed the event, the replay of ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video, featuring two world championship bouts, can be seen for free by North American Prime Video subscribers.