“The belt will be back” - Alexis Nicolas as hungry as ever for world title glory despite recent defeat to Regian Eersel

Alexis Nicolas remains steadfast in his pursuit of world championship glory despite falling short in his bid to reclaim the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title.

The French star suffered a majority decision loss to rival Regian Eersel in their trilogy bout at ONE Fight Night 30 this weekend at Bangkok's iconic Lumpinee Stadium.

Despite the setback, Nicolas quickly took to social media with a defiant message that showed his championship mentality remains unshaken.

"The people's champion never dies. The phoenix never dies; the flame is diminished but never extinguished. And believe me, the belt will be back very soon. Barbo is back," said Alexis Nicolas in a video he posted on Instagram.

The defeat marks another difficult chapter in the rivalry between Nicolas and Eersel, which has now seen the French star come up short in two of their three encounters.

Nicolas drew first blood in the rivalry when he beat Eersel via unanimous decision to capture the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title at ONE Fight Night 21.

‘The Immortal’ repatriated the gold with his own unanimous decision victory at ONE Fight Night 25 before ending the trilogy with a majority decision win this weekend in Bangkok.

Though the fight remained close throughout, Nicolas found himself in an uphill battle heading into the third round after Eersel knocked him down with a clinical left hook late in the second.

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Regian Eersel invites Alexis Nicolas to train with him in Amsterdam

In a touching moment of sportsmanship following their intense rivalry, Regian Eersel revealed he consoled Alexis Nicolas backstage after the fight, offering both encouragement and an invitation to train together in the future:

"I know he feels pain, but I said 'Chin up, you're a man, it's a life lesson. After this, we are done. You are welcome to train with me or maybe I can come visit you in Paris so we can learn from each other,’” said Eersel in an Instagram video from ONE Championship.

Eersel, who also holds the ONE lightweight Muay Thai world title, trains at Sityodtong Amsterdam, where he was molded into becoming one of the greatest strikers in combat sports history.

For Nicolas, whose professional record now stands at 24-2, the focus has quickly shifted from dwelling on defeat to plotting his path back to the top of the division.