Relive Regian Eersel’s dominant world title defense against Mustapha Haida

Before ONE lightweight kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion Regian Eersel returns to the ring on June 9, relive one of the most dominant and one-sided beatdowns of his kickboxing career.

Eersel will defend his Muay Thai belt against the debuting Dmitry Menshikov at ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

On February 26, 2021, Eersel entered his second world title defense of the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title against Moroccan-Italian kickboxer Mustapha Haida.

Originally, another opponent was scheduled to face Eersel on the eventful night. The cancellation made waves in the kickboxing community, but Haida was on standby and more than willing to fight as a replacement.

However, he never expected Eersel to come out as strong as he did for 25 whole minutes.

Those familiar with Eersel’s style, understand that he’s a pressure fighter - in other words, he likes to bait opponents into brawling with him.

He’s relentless in his pursuit and delivers some of his best shots within that range. He relied on this strategy once again and swarmed Haida with flying knee attacks, big hooks, and straight punches from the inside.

Haida, to his credit, challenged those shots at first, but was forced to find the clinch as his cardio waned in the later rounds. Although he was dropped multiple times, Haida stood his ground and gave fans a very watchable and entertaining fight from beginning to end.

At the end of the fifth round, it was a no-brainer as to who won the match. Regian Eersel retained his belt in cerebral fashion by unanimous decision to continue his long and dominant reign in ONE Championship.

Relive some of the best moments below:

North American fans can watch ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov live and for free on Friday, June 9, on Amazon Prime Video.