Regian Eersel continued his impeccable track record in ONE Championship at ONE on Prime Video 3 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A dual-sport world champion, Eersel added to his ONE lightweight kickboxing world title by winning the ONE Muay Thai lightweight world championship. The battle with Sinsamut Klinmee down to the fifth round, where Eersel appeared to have weathered the fight from three innings to two, winning the judges’ scorecard.
With the match being a very competitive and intense one, Eersel was asked for his thoughts on the rematch against Klinmee in his post-match interview:
“In my opinion, it was not a close fight. If you see the fight, I think the first two innings, I’ve actually tested him. And I think from the third, fourth and fifth rounds, I put pressure and you saw his face at the end.”
Despite Regian Eersel’s thoughts on how the fight was going, many fans believe the fight will be a lot closer than the champion has claimed. Sinsamut Klinmee’s change of plans in the third and fourth rounds seemed to end the fight and leave the final round as the decider.
A late Eersel hit spilled Klinmee’s face and was the most important act of the round, thus giving him the decisive victory.
Watch: Highlights from Regian Eersel vs Sinsamut Klinmee match for Muay Thai title
At ONE on Prime Video 3, the inaugural ONE Muay Thai lightweight world championship came with a victory belonging to Regian Eersel. Eersel became a two-sport world champion after winning ONE lightweight kickboxing world champion title.
In a tense and competitive match, Eersel did enough to decide two of the referee’s scorecards after a strong opening and closing move.
The opening two innings played out Eersel’s way, forcing Klinmee to tweak the game layout and increase output to counter his opponent’s tactical style.
With the fight going for two rounds, each advancing to the fifth round, Regian Eersel’s championship experience paid him well in the dying moments of the fight. Eersel continued to push and land combos that staggered the fight as soon as the clock went down.
While Klinmee was competitive throughout the fight, his attempts to shoot back Eersel at the end of the fight only made it possible for him to take more clean hits and push the fight away from him.
Watch Eersel’s fifth round rally below:
