Earlier this month, at ONE Fight Night 25 in Bangkok, Surinamese-Dutch Multi-sport Lightweight, Regian Eersel, defeated formerly undefeated champion, Alexis Nicholas, to reclaim his ONE Kickboxing World Championship title. The win returned the prodigy to the top of the ONE Championship rankings as both the Lightweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion.
The split points loss to Nicholas in April stands as the only blemish on “The Immortal’s” otherwise immaculate ONE record where he stood as the longest reigning kickboxing champion, with the most successful title defenses in the promotion’s history.
Having faced names like Sinsamut Klimnee and Nicky Holzken in the process of accumulating an 8-year win streak, it cannot be denied that Eersel is one of the most dominant champions of the modern era and in this article, we are going to reveal how and why. After introducing Eersel’s background and pre-ONE history we are going to take a deep dive into his unique and effective fight style. We’ll explain the methods he uses to break down opponents over lengthy, five-round battles and the techniques he uses to debilitate and, often, knock his opponents out.
So, if you’re a fan of ONE Championship, “The Immortal”, or combat sports in general, read on; we’re going to tell you everything you need to know about one of the most dominant champions on ONE Championship.
Who Is Regian Eersel?
Originally from Suriname, Africa, Eersel and his father moved to The Netherlands when he was only four years old. At eight, he made his combat sports debut through Taekwondo before transitioning to Kickboxing and Muay Thai at fifteen, when he entered the famous Sityodtong Gym in Amsterdam and never looked back.
Standing at over six feet tall and with almost two meters of reach, Eersel used his long limbs and impressive cardio to rack up a series of impressive wins and knockouts which eventually caught the attention of international promotors. In 2016, he made his LionFight debut in the United States, fighting another ONE Championship alumni, Jo Nattawut, who was already a three-time world champion in the promotion. In the final round of a fast-paced fight, Eersel snatched a KO victory off the back of an impressive head kick, earning himself an immediate title shot against Jake Purdy, who he KO’d with a flying knee in the second round to secure his first World Title. He would defend this title three times before vacating it to focus on his career in ONE Championship.
In 2019, after three impressive wins on ONE Championship, Eersel challenged fellow countryman, Nicky Holzken, for the inaugural ONE Lightweight Kickboxing title and defeated him over five hard-fought rounds.
After four successful defenses, “The Immortal” was offered the chance to fight for the inaugural ONE Lightweight Muay Thai belt, this time against towering Thai giant, Sinsamut Klimnee. A split-point victory granted Eersel the title and honor of being the third-ever multi-sport champion on ONE but also allowed Sinsamut an immediate rematch. Five months later the men faced each other again, but this time Eersel’s relentless pressure, combined with a beautiful body shot stopped the Thai in the fourth round.
By the time Eersel faced undefeated French phenomenon, Alexis Nicholas, in April of this year, not only was he an ONE multi-sport champion, but he was also on an 8-year and 22-fight win streak. Now that he’s reclaimed his Kickboxing title and is once again a two-sport champion, the question on everyone’s lips is: What’s next for “The Immortal?”
Eersel’s Dominant Fight Style
This highlight reel shows you exactly what you can expect from Regian Eersel in the ring. Whether he’s fighting under Kickboxing or Muay Thai rules, his style and tactics hardly change. He marches forward with a tight guard, like a true Muay Bouk, and wears his opponents out with a high work rate and constant pressure.
To maintain constant pressure, Regian will stalk forward with his hands held tight to his temple like a shield. He presses into his opponent’s pocket forcing them to react and, depending on how they respond, he often returns fire in three different ways:
- His Opponent Attacks: With his tight guard, his opponent’s first strike rarely connects, and especially in the later rounds when they are fatigued, this attack creates a hole in the guard that Eersel will immediately capitalize upon. An example of this is the right hand that he throws immediately after his opponent throws a left body kick. He wears the kick on his shielding arms as he walks forward and immediately steps in for a massive cross. It is this move he used to set up his sensational KO head kick against Saemapetch Fairtex on his LionFight debut.
- His Opponent Covers Up: When confronted with Eersel’s relentless forward pressure, many fighters go defensive and close a tight guard that mirrors “The Immortal’s” posture. Even in the 4oz gloves, it can be hard to find a home for strikes when someone takes this stance, but Eersel finds a great deal of success here mixing high volume and level changes with unorthodox strikes such as looping rear hooks and overhand punches that circle around the guard. He combines this with a flying scissor knee that splits his opponent’s shielding guard down the middle.
- His Opponent Backs Up: Eersel doesn’t just use his flying scissor knee when his opponent covers up. He uses it relentlessly and often with the most success when he has his opponent backing away from him. The flying knee allows him to close the ground quickly while forcing his opponent to cover up. As he throws it, he will often extend his arms, covering his opponent’s gloves so they cannot counter with punches or elbows.
This flying knee often creates the opening he needs to land more of his unorthodox strikes such as the flying right hand he used in his knee-punch KO victory against Dewitt Pratt on LionFight in 2017.
In Summary
Regian Eersel’s aggressive Muay Bouk style has made him a dominant champion in both Kickboxing and Muay Thai. His walk-forward style, mixed with high-volume attacks and unorthodox striking has kept him at the pinnacle of two sports for almost a decade.
These factors, in conjunction with his elite fitness and iconic scissor knee, made him the longest reigning Kickboxing champion in ONE history and have led him to 62 impressive wins from 67 fights with almost half of them coming by the way of highlight reel finishes. So, no matter what lies next for Regian Eersel, fans are sure to expect fireworks.
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