After three intense clashes in their rivalry, Regian Eersel had the last laugh, emerging victorious over Alexis Nicolas in their rubber match at ONE Fight Night 30 last Friday, April 4.
Despite being ineligible to bring home the ONE lightweight kickboxing world title due to failing his hydration test during the official weigh-in window, Eersel fought inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium with the intensity of a defending world champion, delivering relentless offense to Nicolas across five rounds.
Watch the highlights of that matchup below:
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
Eersel came out strong in the first round, quickly landing a barrage of kicks and punches that kept Nicolas on the defensive. However, the Frenchman responded with leg kicks, aiming to slow down "The Immortal."
After a back-and-forth battle in the second stanza, the Surinamese-Dutch striker rocked Nicolas late with a solid left hook, scoring a knockdown.
In the third frame, "Barboza" found his rhythm, pressing the action and bringing the fight to Eersel. Despite the pressure, the latter stayed one step ahead, consistently landing hard strikes and dealing more damage.
Ultimately, Eersel secured a majority decision from the judges at ringside, rewarding his efforts.
Regian Eersel relishes victory over Alexis Nicolas
Though the bout was neck-and-neck until the final bell, Regian Eersel firmly believes that he rightfully deserves the nod on the scorecard to finally close the book on his feud with Alexis Nicolas.
He said this in his post-ONE Fight Night 30 interview:
"Why I think I deserve this win because I clearly showed that I'm the better fighter, scored more points, and I got the knockdown in the second round. So you know, that's why."
Eersel may have been stripped of the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship, but he remains as the promotion's lightweight Muay Thai king.