Interviews
“Some Fighters Can’t Handle It” – Regian Eersel Believes Pressure Makes Him Stronger Ahead of ONE Fight Night 21
Two-sport ONE World Champion Regian Eersel untouchable promotional run has put him in a league of his own, and one of the reasons he has become such a force is his refusal to take any opponent lightly.
The Surinamese striker is continuing that approach ahead of his latest defense of the lightweight kickboxing gold against unbeaten star Alexis Nicolas in the main event of ONE Fight Night 21 on Saturday, 6th April.
Eersel has been doing his homework. He was in the crowd when Nicolas scored an impressive win against Magomed Magomedov in his ONE debut this past January and was impressed with what he saw.
“I was watching live when he had his first fight for ONE. He’s a smart fighter, good with his kicks, and he throws good combinations. It’s going to be a good fight for me, and I’m going to put my name to the test again. It’s also good for him that he gets to fight for the belt in his second fight in ONE,” Regian Eersel said.
“I look at everybody they put in front of me as the most dangerous guy because the one in front of me is the one who is trying to beat me.
“My opponent is gonna do everything in his power to get the win and to get the belt. Nobody is an easy fight. Everybody is dangerous.”
Nicolas’ 23-0 slate would be intimidating for any fighter facing into a bout with him, but Eersel has an abundance of momentum behind him.
The two-sport king is on a 22-fight winning streak, with 11 of those coming in ONE Championship, and he stands supreme in both the lightweight kickboxing and Muay Thai ranks.
As well as that, his tenure in the world’s largest martial arts organization is also six years longer than “Barboza’s,” and he plans to use everything he’s learned in his World Title defense.
“My biggest advantage I think is my experience, my pressure going forward, and my aggression. I think he will struggle with that,” Eersel said.
“I would say I’m a different kind of fighter. I am really going to put the pressure on him, and he will feel it.”
Another factor that will play to the benefit of the two-sport king is the grandeur of the occasion. ONE Fight Night 21’s main event will be the biggest fight of Nicolas’ career, but it will be Eersel’s eighth consecutive World Title fight in ONE Championship.
Whenever a belt is on the line, pressure follows for both competitors. Given his blistering form, “The Immortal” clearly thrives off the stress of expectation. But he says many don’t, and he’s ready to take advantage if Nicolas succumbs to it.
“I think it can go two ways because fighters aren’t the same. It’s not only the fight – it’s all the things around it. It’s a World Title fight in one of the biggest organizations in the world, so we get a lot of interviews and a lot of attention. When it’s close, all the media and all the attention that you get, some fighters can’t handle it,” Regian Eersel said.
“You will not notice it from the fighter. But inside his head, it’s sometimes a lot. If he can handle it, good. If not, I will notice. I will notice in the fight. And even before the fight.
Because sometimes you see it in the eyes, the hesitation. So, I’m going to recognize it if he has it.”
ONE Championship’s striking roster has continued to flourish in 2024, and it got even stronger this week with the announcement of another elite kickboxer putting pen to paper in the world’s largest martial arts organization. Japanese megastar Masaaki Noiri has officially inked a deal with ONE, and he’s set to add further depth to the stand-up ranks.
Noiri is a former two-division K-1 World Champion and Grand Prix Champion, and he’s also a former WBC Japanese Muay Thai Champion.
Fighting in ONE will allow him to switch between the two sports whenever he wants, and this is an exciting prospect for the 30-year-old.
“As ONE officially announced, I have signed a contract with ONE Championship, the highest stage for striking. If I want to pursue being the strongest in the world that I believe in, this is a stage I have to challenge on,” Noiri said.
“I believe ONE is the ultimate stage for striking, so I wanted to challenge myself in that ring. I’m pursuing to be the strongest in the world through martial arts, so I chose this path to test if the current Masaaki Noiri can make it in ONE.”
It would be remiss of ONE’s hottest new signing not to have World Title ambitions as he embarks on his new journey.
However, along with gold, Noiri’s looking to show the world what strikers from his country can do, and he hopes a world-class compatriot can help him in that mission.
“[My plan is] to definitely win the ONE world title,” Noiri said.
“Not just me, but together with Takeru Segawa. And we’ll prove the strength of Japanese fighters to the world.”
For a fighter to become the best, it helps to remain humble and focused. And if the opportunity to train with world-class athletes arises, they should grab it with both hands. Ahead of her return to ONE Championship next month, ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla Sundell has been doing all that.
The Swedish striker is set to return in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 on Saturday, 4th May, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, where she’ll defend her crown against Russian ruiner Natalia Diachkova.
Sundell has been dominant across four promotional outings. But she knows she’ll have her hands full with Diachkova, so she recently chose to take some tips from ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.
“I did his seminar in Bangkok at PK Saenchai with my friend Matt. We went there and wanted to learn some new skills and see how he did seminars because I want to go to America after my fight to do seminars. I’ve done one now, and I like teaching, so it was fun,” Sundell said.
“There’s no competition in it. He’s like a cat playing with a rat. It’s too easy for him sometimes. He doesn’t even try.”
The strawweight Muay Thai queen sharpens her skills at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, alongside other world-class striking talents, like three-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex.
Stamp’s fun-loving nature has rubbed off on Sundell, but it’s her commitment to never backing down that has truly inspired the 19-year-old sensation.
“She’s always been a happy girl and trains hard every day. She’s basically the same funny girl. Still hungry (to get wins),” Sundell explained.
“I think I learned that you can achieve whatever you like as long as you put in the work. But I learned that from my parents, too. But maybe more practical, in a sense, because Stamp did it in martial arts.”
Interviews
“I Want To Be Number One” – Superbon Seeking Revenge Against Allazov, Tawanchai After ONE Friday Fights 58
Since parting with the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship last year, newly crowned interim titleholder Superbon hasn’t relented in his quest to regain the undisputed crown.
The Thai phenom took a step closer to fulfilling that goal when he defeated staunch rival Marat Grigorian in their trilogy bout at ONE Friday Fights 58 last Friday, 5th April.
Superbon outstruck Grigorian over five rounds to claim the interim crown, and he was satisfied with his handiwork.
“I think he did a little bit better from ONE X. This time, he changed the game because he pressured me. I needed to change the game, too, because I didn’t think he could pressure me,” he said.
“I feel like I won every round. I’m really happy with my victory. Even though I wasn’t doing so good early, I still did good enough to beat him.”
Superbon had a mixed bag of results in 2023. The year started out with disappointment when he lost the featherweight kickboxing strap to Chingiz Allazov at ONE Fight Night 6 in January.
The knockout defeat haunted the Thai star, but his response was strong, as he returned to knock out Tayfun Ozcan six months later.
Superbon then swapped to Muay Thai, where another setback emerged.
He challenged Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title at December’s ONE Friday Fights 46 and came up short via unanimous decision.
2024 looks to be trending up for the 33-year-old, however. And now that he has the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title in his grasp, he knows exactly where he wants to go next.
“I want a rematch [with Allazov]. I want to be number one in kickboxing,” Superbon asserted.
“That’s another goal – my goal still. I want to be a Kickboxing World Champion, and I want to be a Muay Thai World Champion, too. That’s my goal.”
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