Regian Eersel says Alexis Nicolas defeat lit a fire in him like never before: "I got my hunger back"

Most important lessons arise from difficult times. ONE lightweight Muay Thai world champion, Regian Eersel, believes so, too.

The Surinamese striking superstar enjoyed an eight-year, 22-fight unbeaten streak as he squared off against unbeaten French dynamo Alexis Nicolas in the ONE Fight Night 21 headliner this past April. While many expected him to cruise to another decisive win, things didn't go as planned.

'Barboza' snapped his winning streak in some fashion, dropping the then-two divisional king once before securing the unanimous decision nod from the judges at ringside. Though he disagrees with the outcome, 'The Immortal' believes it was a plot he needed at that juncture of his career.

Days out from an opportunity to reclaim his 26 pounds of gold in the main event of ONE Fight Night 25 this Friday, Oct. 4, Regian Eersel shared the most important lesson he learned from that loss. He told the promotion:

"I've learned from this loss, too. I got my hunger back, you know, after staying on the fight [game] for so many years, you lose a little bit of fire. It sounds a little bit strange, but you still lose a little bit of fire."

Hopefully, when all is said and done inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Eersel can regain his status as a two-sport ONE world champion. He, however, wouldn't have it easy against 'Barboza,' who is out to prove that this victory over the Sityodtong Amsterdam affiliate was anything but a fluke.

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Alexis Nicolas plans to better his performance in Regian Eersel redo

Besides eyeing a chance to pull a 2-0 lead against Regian Eersel, Alexis Nicolas hopes to bag the US$50,000 performance bonus if he can put his foe away in highlight-reel fashion this Friday.

Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA, he noted:

"Last time, Eersel was undefeated for many years. So I was sure that if I won against him, I would get a bonus. But there was no bonus for me. Maybe next time, I have to knock him out to get this."

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 25 card live in U.S. primetime for free.