"Now I can sleep" - Alexis Nicolas says he wants to get due rest before plotting next move as lightweight kickboxing king

In securing one of the biggest upsets of the year, Alexis Nicolas has very quickly gone from being the hunter to the hunted.

The French striker was previously under the radar following his ONE Championship debut win in January. However, dethroning a dominant champion like Regian Eersel at ONE Fight Night 21 has now alerted everyone to his presence.

Nicolas fought hard against the champion and huge favorite on the night to leave the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium with the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship.

The new divisional king knows that there will be several contenders, including the man he beat on April 5, all clamoring for a shot at his title.

Before he can look to address this, Alexis Nicolas said in his post-fight press conference that he is going to rest up first before thinking about his first title defense:

"I know this fight was very hard, I know Eersel wants this belt again. I know all the world wants this belt. Now I can sleep, I will sleep a little bit [longer] and after that, I want to come back and fight now. I'm hungry."

Watch the full press conference below:

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Alexis Nicolas won't be short on options for his next fight

After shocking the world with his win over Regian Eersel, Alexis Nicolas won't be short on opponents who want to step up and face him.

For a start, Eersel will surely be campaigning for a rematch after how dominant he was as a champion to prove that he had an off night on April 5.

There will also be a lot of contenders who hope to finally get their hands on the gold now that 'The Immortal' doesn't own the title.

Navigating these challenges and maintaining the same hunger that he had as the challenger will be key to Nicolas keeping hold of the belt.

North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch ONE Fight Night 21 via the free on-demand replay.