Regian Eersel has not lost a fight in over eight years, but at 31 years of age, “The Immortal” feels more erosion with every punch.
“Luckily, I didn’t have to have surgery,” he told Sherdog.com, “but I had to treat my injury and take some time off. I took seminars, took a little vacation with my family and got in some light training.”
The Surinamese slugger saw the world in his time away from the ring. Eersel traveled to Spain, cruised to the Caribbean islands, made his way through Italy and went indoor skydiving for the first time. However, during his time off, a new challenger emerged. Alexis Nicolas, a 25-year-old undefeated former ISKA kickboxing champion, impressed in his ONE Championship debut against Magomed Magomedov. At 23-0, Nicolas has the pedigree and confidence required to oppose Eersel. Will that be enough to take Eersel’s kickboxing title in the ONE on Prime Video 21 main event on April 6 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand?
“He throws good combinations and mixes his hands and legs together very well,” Eersel said. “He’s a world champion, and I’ll have to watch out, especially for his kicks.”
Despite winning his last 22 fights, Eersel enters his fifth kickboxing title defense with a healthy respect for Nicolas. Eersel remains one of the best strikers on the planet, and he has not maintained his reputation by overlooking the competition. Throughout all the wear and tear, Eersel still looks to elevate his style. Since starting with taekwondo at age 8, he has studied multiple striking styles, including muay thai and Dutch-style kickboxing, to adapt his destructive form of combat. Early in his career, he had the athleticism, skills and explosiveness to be a world champion, yet lacked the confidence. That changed the night he fought Cosmo Alexandre.
“It all clicked the first time I fought in America against Cosmo,” Eersel said. “I was a young boy, and he was a top striker. Everybody thought, ‘Oh, this guy is going to lose,’ and honestly, I was afraid. I lost the fight on points, but I thought I won, and everybody else thought the same. After the fight, I realized that if I could be on the same level as him, then I could go even higher. That gave me a boost.”
A decade after his controversial loss, Eersel continues to prove himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet. Since signing with ONE in 2018, he has rattled off 10 wins and back-to-back knockouts. With over 23,000 followers on Instagram, he ranks as one of the most popular kickboxers on the roster. However, owning and defending two world titles makes Eersel a busy man. With his two daughters getting older, injuries mounting and his challengers growing restless, Eersel climbs back into the ring for one reason: legacy.
“One of my main goals is to build up my legacy and put my name in the history books,” he said. “I think I’m doing pretty well, but I still have a couple more years to go. It’s my motivation to set the bar as high as possible for the next champ.”
Despite Eersel’s dominance in the ring, he knows he can only hold off Father Time for so long. He tries to “teach the body to rid the pain,” but the lessons seem to get harder every day. He does not plan to pass the torch to Nicolas but understands the day will come for another fighter to carry the belt. When Eersel walks away, he wants to do so on his own terms but not before he reaches one more goal that will truly make him immortal in the history books.
“I want to accomplish at least 10 defenses,” Eersel said. “It doesn’t matter which sport but at least 10. Then you could say, ‘OK, this guy defended a pretty good number of times for a champion.’ After that, we’ll see what the future brings, but at least then I can say I really did my best.”Suablack Tor Pran49 vs Vladimir Kuzmin Dedduanglek TDed99 vs Taiki Naito