"Not the expected result" - Alexis Nicolas reflects on his defeat as his rivalry with Regian Eersel comes to a close in Bangkok

Alexis Nicolas couldn't mask the disappoinment following his tough defeat at the hands of Regian Eersel in their trilogy bout at ONE Fight Night 30 last Friday, April 4.

As the only eligible fighter to claim the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship after Eersel was stripped of the belt due to a failed hydration test during the official weigh-in window, Nicolas gave it his all from bell to bell at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Despite his efforts, the Frenchman fell short on the scorecards, losing by majority decision.

Recently, Nicolas expressed his frustration with the setbak in an Instagram post. He originally wrote in his native tongue:

"The trilogy with Eersel is over. It's not the expected result, neither he or I left with the belt."

Nicolas put forth a gallant stand against Eersel, who came out swinging from the opening bell with a flurry of blistering strikes that kept the Frenchman on the backfoot.

After an intense exchange during the majority of the second round, Eersel wobbled Nicolas with a powerful left hook late in the frame, sending him to the canvas for the first and only knockdown in the duel.

Unfortunately for Eersel, Nicolas found his groove in the third round, pressing the action with effective offense. However, the Surinamese-Dutch sensation managed to adjust in the last two stanzas, landing clean strikes and inflicting more damage to earn two of the judges' favor.

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Alexis Nicolas cannot wait to go back to the drawing board

Alexis Nicolas conceded that the defeat at ONE Fight Night 30 is a bitter to swallow, but he's doing his best to find the silver lining.

Still, the former ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion knows all is not lost, and he's eager to return to the gym to address his shortcomings and come back stronger:

"These last three fights [against Regian Eersel] have brought me so much. I can't wait to get back to training to learn from my past experience and continue my progress."