Regian Eersel brought Muay Thai belt to Suriname, met with president

Regian Eersel is using his status as a two-sport ONE world champion to help the up-and-coming fighters in his home country.

Eersel, holder of not one, but two ONE world championships is set to defend his lightweight Muay Thai title against Russian knockout artist Dmitry Menshikov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 11 this Friday night. Ahead of his highly anticipated world title tilt, ‘The Immortal’ spoke with the South China Morning Post to discuss his return to Suriname after capturing his crown.

While there, he met with the President and briefly discussed using his experience and success to help aspiring fighters in the country progress.

“Yeah. After I defended my Muay Thai belt, I brought it back to Suriname. I got a lot of love from my people. They treat me like a real champ. I even met the President, had a nice conversation and we were there to help the upcoming Surinamese fighters. Yeah, we are making progress.”

After dominating the world of kickboxing for years and becoming the promotion’s lightweight kickboxing king, Regian Eersel turned his attention to the art of eight limbs, becoming the lightweight division’s first Muay Thai world titleholder with a split decision victory over Thai standout Sinsamut Klinmee. Five months later, the pair would run it back with Eersel scoring a highlight-reel-worthy KO.

Next, Regian Eersel will be tasked with ending the 11-fight win streak of ONE Championship newcomer Dmitry Menshikov. The Russian standout makes his promotional debut with 27 career wins, 19 of them coming by way of knockout.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 11 live and for free in U.S. primetime on June 9.