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Regian Eersel was able to defend his lightweight kickboxing title for the third time in ONE Championship against Islam Murtazaev with a split decision victory. The reigning champion revealed that he finally got the respect he deserves with the win at ONE: Winter Warriors.
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The match between Eersel and Murtazaev promised fireworks, and it definitely delivered. Being perceived as a good guy in the sport, Eersel admitted that he was overlooked by many. His most recent win, however, proved his doubters wrong.
"I think I got the love I deserve but you know, I'm a very easy guy. I don't have a big mouth, you know. I don't make predictions like, oh, I'm going to kill him in the second round or something like that. So I think that that is the difference between me and the other fighters. I'm a nice guy outside of the ring," said Eersel in a post-match interview with ONE Championship.
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Eersel's record improved to 57-4 following the victory and he has remained undefeated in ONE Championship. As humble as he is, he does not want to call out anyone to be his next opponent.
"I have nobody on my list or something like that. I think it's not, not like difficult for ONE Championship. I think there are enough fighters in the world that want to face me. Actually, Islam was one of them and you see it was difficult to fight him. So I think ONE will come with even better fighters for me. I will be prepared."
Eersel comments on former ONE Championship opponent's rise in the UFC
Regian Eersel had his first fight in ONE Championship way back in April 2018. He went up against Brad Riddell and won the kickboxing match by unanimous decision.
Riddell has been juggling MMA and kickboxing his entire career. The 30-year-old UFC lightweight from New Zealand made a permanent move to MMA in 2019 and went on to put together a four-fight winning streak in the UFC upon joining the promotion.
Riddell has risen to the top 15 in the UFC lightweight rankings and Eersel gave his remarks on his former opponent's rise in a rival organization.
"I was happy for them that they signed with the UFC. But I didn't like follow this career, you know. Sometimes, I saw the fight. I think he got the performance of the night for his first fight in UFC, I think. But I don't really follow my former opponents like that."
Riddell suffered his first loss in the UFC against Rafael Fiziev this past weekend. The fight with Eersel in ONE Championship was his first and last bout in the organization.
