Regian Eersel (born 16 December 1992) is a Surinamese-Dutch

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

currently signed to ONE Championship. He is the current ONE Lightweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion. He is ranked as the best welterweight in the world by Combat Press as of September 2022, and the second best by Beyond Kick as of October 2022. He has been continually ranked in Combat Press the top 10 since March 2019.

Background

Eersel was born in Paramaribo, Suriname and moved to the Netherlands with his family when he was four years old. He started taekwondo at the age of eight, and transitioned to rugby afterwards. At the age of 15, he started training at Sityodtong Gym in Amsterdam. His nickname, The Immortal, was given to Eersel in this early amateur era. His teammates gave it to him, as he never used the break time between the rounds to sit and regain breath. As it was not easy to find competitors in the Netherlands after becoming a professional athlete in his weightclass, he tried his luck abroad. In Baku, Azerbaijan, Eersel took part in a K1-tournament, where he qualified for the finals. He did not win the finals, but the hunger for more had started. After this Eersel was invited for competitions in his country of birth Surinam, Russia (W5), Greece, Germany, Turkey (Mix Fight Gala), the US (Legacy and Lion Fight) and China (Wu Lin Feng, Glory of Heroes).

Kickboxing career

Early career

Eersel made his Lion Fight debut against Jo Nattawut at Lion Fight 29 on May 27, 2016. He won the fight in the fifth round, with a head kick knockout. After defeating the two-weight Lion Fight champion, Eersel was given a chance to fight for the Super Middleweight title, with his opponent being Jake Purdy. The title bout took place at Lion Fight 33 on November 18, 2016. Eersel won the fight by a second round technical knockout. He then fought Chen Yawei during Mix Fight Gala 20, on December 3, 2016, winning the fight by a first round-knockout. Eersel made his first Lion Fight title defense against Dewitt Pratt at Lion Fight 34 on February 3, 2017. He won the fight by a knockout in the first round. Eersel took part in the Mix Fight Gala 78.5 kg tournament, which took place at Mix Fight Gala 21 on May 6, 2017. He beat Marco Pleschberger in the semi finals by a second-round technical knockout, and

Sergej Braun Sergej Braun (born July 17, 1989) is a German kickboxer and karateka, currently competing in the middleweight division of Glory. As of December 2022, Braun is ranked as the ninth best middleweight in the world by Beyond Kick and sixth best by Co ...

in the finals by a first-round knockout to capture the tournament title. Regian made his second Lion Fight title defense against Matous Kohout at Lion Fight 38 on September 29, 2017. He won the fight by a fifth round KO. His third title defense came during Lion Fight 50, when he defeated Joakim Hagg by a fifth round TKO.

ONE Championship

Eersel made his ONE Championship debut against Brad Riddell at ONE Championship: Heroes of Honor on April 2018. Eersel won the fight by a unanimous decision. Despite being contracted with ONE Championship, Eersel made his third Lion Fight title defense against Joakim Hagg at Lion Fight 50 on November 3, 2018. He won the fight by a fifth-round technical knockout. Eersel faced Anthony Njokuani at ONE Championship: Call to Greatness on February 22, 2019. He won the fight by second-round knockout. The fight ended in some controversy, as Njokuani claimed an illegal elbow led to his stoppage loss. Njokuani later appealed the decision. On May 17, 2019, he challenged Nieky Holzken for the

ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions Men's championship history Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight limit: '' Light Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight li ...

at ONE Championship 96: Enter the Dragon on May 17, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Eersel made his first title defense in an immediate rematch with Holzken at ONE Championship: Dawn Of Valor on October 26, 2019. He once again won the fight by unanimous decision. Eersel was booked to make his second title defense against

Mustapha Haida Mustapha Haida (born 12 October 1988) is a Moroccan-Italian Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the middleweight and welterweight divisions. He fought for GLORY, SUPERKOMBAT, Kunlun Fight, Bellator Kickboxing and currently fights in ONE Cha ...

at ONE Championship: Unbreakable. However, Haida was forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury, leading to the cancellation of their bout. Regian Eersel was later scheduled to defend the

against Islam Murtazaev at ONE Championship: Fists Of Fury 3 on March 19, 2021. Murtazaev himself would later withdraw, for undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by

. Eersel successfully defended the title by unanimous decision. Eersel defended his title against

Islam Murtazaev Islam Murtazaev (Russian: Ислам Муртазаев; born April 13, 1991) is a Russian kickboxer and mixed martial artist. As of March 2023, he is ranked as the fourth best middleweight in the world by Beyond Kick. Biography and career E ...

at ONE: Winter Warriors on December 3, 2021. He won the bout via split decision. Eersel is scheduled to make his fourth ONE lightweight title defense against Arian Sadikovic at ONE 156 on April 8, 2022. Despite suffering an early knockdown, Eersel rallied back to win the following rounds and retain his title by unanimous decision. He was awarded a $50,000 bonus for winning the fight. Eersel faced Sinsamut Klinmee for the inaugural ONE Muay Thai Lightweight title at ONE on Prime Video 3 on October 21, 2022. He captured the championship by split decision.

Personal life

Eersel and his girlfriend have two daughters.

Championships

* ONE Championship **

ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Championship This is a list of ONE Championship champions in each weight division of each sport. Current champions Men's championship history Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight limit: '' Light Heavyweight World Championship ::''Weight lim ...

(One time; current) **

(One time; current) ***Four successful title defenses ** Performance of the Night (One time) *Mix Fighting Championship ** 2017 Mix Fight -78.5 kg Tournament Winner * Lion Fight ** Lion Fight Super Middleweight World Champion (168 lb) 2016 ()

Fight record

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Sinsamut Klinmee Sinsamut Klinmee ( th, สินสมุทร กลิ่นมี; born October 30, 1995) is a Thai Muay Thai fighter and Bare knuckle boxer who competes in the lightweight division of ONE Championship. Early life Klinmee born in Pattaya, ...

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, , KO (Knee to the Body) , , 1 , , 1:24 , - style="background:#CCFFCC;" , 2017-02-03, , Win , , align=left, Dewitt Pratt , , Lion Fight 34 , , Las Vegas, United States , , KO (Flying Knee + right cross), , 1 , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - style="background:#CCFFCC;" , 2016-12-03, , Win , , align=left, Chen Yawei , , Mix Fight Gala 20 , , Frankfurt, Germany , , KO (Knee to the body), , 1 , , , - , - style="background:#CCFFCC;" , 2016-11-18, , Win , , align=left, Jake Purdy , , Lion Fight 33 , , United States , , KO (Flying Knee) , , 2 , , , - ! style=background:white colspan=9 , , - , - style="background:#CCFFCC;" , 2016-05-27, , Win , , align=left, Jo Nattawut , , Lion Fight 29 , , United States , , KO (Right high kick) , , 5 , , , - , - style="background:#FFBBBB;" , 2016-03-18, , Loss , , align=left, Matous Kohout , , Heroes Gate 16 , , Czech Republic , , Decision , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , - style="background:#CCFFCC;" , 2015-12-05, , Win , , align=left, Wang Anying , , Wu Lin Feng , ,

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References

External links

Official ONE Championship profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eersel, Regian 1992 births Living people Dutch male kickboxers Surinamese male kickboxers Lightweight kickboxers Welterweight kickboxers Middleweight kickboxers Dutch Muay Thai practitioners Surinamese Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from Paramaribo Sportspeople from Amsterdam Surinamese emigrants to the Netherlands ONE Championship kickboxers Kickboxing champions ONE Championship champions