Red-hot Dmitry Menshikov not rushing into rematch with Regian Eersel: “Things are gonna happen when it’s gonna happen”

Russian Muay Thai star Dmitry Menshikov is close to completing the story after successfully compiling three straight KO wins in ONE Championship at ONE Fight Night 22 last weekend. The heavy-handed kickboxer stopped former world title challenger Sinsamut Klinmee in front of a hostile crowd inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

It's quite a journey to bounce back from his disappointing ONE debut against former ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion Regian 'The Immortal' Eersel last year.

While Dmitry Menshikov stacked heads after the loss, Eersel's next bout had him dropping the lightweight kickboxing crown in a massive upset to French striker Alexis Nicolas. On whether he wants to rematch Eersel now that the Senegalese superstar is no longer a two-sport world champion, Menshikov said in his post-event media scrum:

“Things are gonna happen when it’s gonna happen. Like, you know, even now, there’s no title shot for me. So, We’re gonna see, we’re gonna see how it goes.”

A rematch between Eersel and Nicolas might be in line first, given how close their first bout was. If all goes well for Menshikov, maybe he'll be next in line for Eersel's remaining Muay Thai gold.

---

Dmitry Menshikov finishes Sinsamut at ONE Fight Night 22 after gruelling battle

The first round saw the two former world title challengers trade leg kicks and combinations early. Menshikov appeared to be the aggressor, largely pushing Sinsamut to the ropes. The Thai stood his ground and traded with his Russian for most of the round.

The second round saw Dmitry Menshikov continuing his stalking ways by being the aggressor, trying to head-hunt the whole time. Sinsamut answered with hard leg kicks, eventually prompting Menshikov to switch stances momentarily.

The third round continued this trend. Menshikov aggressively moved forward with strikes to the head while Sinsamut continued attacking with calf kicks. With a minute-and-a-half into the round, the Russian striker switched things up and targeted the visibly damaged Sinsamut to the body.

This strategy paid off as he seemingly hurt his Thai foe, pushing him to the ropes. Menshikov ended the night by sapping Sinsamut's energy with body shots - enough to force the referee to stop the fight.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.