Two-sport lightweight king Regian Eersel says it's his responsibility to "set the bar high" for future champions

Reigning ONE lightweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion, Regian Eersel is on a mission to not only be a dominant two-sport world champion but also be the golden standard for aspiring world champions.

Eersel revealed this during his most recent interview with Sherdog, ahead of his world title defense against Alexis Nicolas on April 5 at ONE Fight Night 21, which goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

'The Immortal' said:

"It's my motivation to set the bar as high as possible for the next champ."

The Surinamese combat sports superstar is fresh off a victory against Dmitry Menshikov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 11 in June 2023 via a 46-second first-round knockout.

Aside from Menshikov, Eersel scored wins over Brad Riddell, Anthony Njokuani, Nieky Holzken (twice), Mustapha Haida, Islam Murtazaev, Arian Sadikovic, and Sinsamut Klinmee (twice). Among these wins, he scored three stoppages.

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Regian Eersel to defend his ONE lightweight kickboxing world title against Alexis Nicolas at ONE Fight Night 21

Regian Eersel will welcome the challenge of Alexis Nicolas in his return to the ring as they headline the stacked ONE Fight Night 21 card in front of the stacked crowd inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

This is going to be the Sityodtong Amsterdam representative's fifth defense of his kickboxing championship after capturing the title in May 2019 at ONE: Dawn of Valor. His last kickboxing world title defense happened in April 2022 at ONE 156 against Sadikovic.

Since then, Regian Eersel has fought in three successive Muay Thai world title fights and eventually became part of the exclusive club of two-sport world champions that includes Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, Janet Todd, Jonathan Haggerty, and Stamp Fairtex.

ONE Fight Night 21 will air live in U.S. primetime free of charge for existing Prime video subscribers in North America.