ONE Fight Night 21: Dutch Muay Thai fighter Regian Eersel and US submission grappler Tye Ruotolo put their belts on the line
- The two champions headline the seven fights confirmed so far for the event at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on April 6
- Also on the card is Ruotolo’s twin brother, Kade, as well as fighters from the Philippines, Japan, Brazil, France, England, Australia, Malaysia and Bosnia
The ONE Fight Night 21 card is coming together with seven fights confirmed, including two title matches, and headlined by Dutch stand-up specialist Regian Eersel.
Eersel, who holds the ONE Championship lightweight kickboxing and Muay Thai titles, will be putting the latter on the line when he faces Alexis Nicolas in the main event at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on April 6.
French fighter Nicolas has been handed a shot at the title on his promotional debut in the event, which will be broadcast live in North America by Prime Video.
The co-main event will have submission grappling gold on the line, with American Tye Ruotolo defending his welterweight strap against Izaak Michell of Australia. This bout was originally booked for ONE 166 in Qatar earlier this month.
Also in submission grappling action is Ruotolo’s twin brother, Kade, who faces Brazilian Francisco Lo in a catchweight contest set at 180 pounds (81.6 kilograms).
The latest addition to the card comes in the atomweight division. Japan’s Ayaka Miura (13-5-0-1) will be looking to secure a spot in the top five for the first time in this division when she takes on No 5-ranked Malaysian Jihin Radzuan (9-4).
There has been a noticeable increase in the number of fighters from Japan since ONE Championship signed a broadcast deal with Japanese streaming service U-Next, and welterweight Hiroyuki Tetsuka (13-4) will be looking for his fifth straight win when he takes on Brazil’s Valmir da Silva (9-3).
The other MMA fight on the card pits China’s Wang Shuo (16-7) against Jeremy Pacatiw (12-5) from the Philippines in a bantamweight bout. Both men are coming off extensive absences and will be competing for the first time since 2022.
The final fight on the card will be contested under Muay Thai rules, with England’s Jacob Smith matched against Denis Purić of Bosnia in a flyweight three-rounder.
More bouts are likely to be added in the coming days. Charismatic Canadian heavyweight Ben Tynan recently announced that he would be fighting in April although we do not know the identity of his opponent yet.
ONE Fight Night 21 (MMA unless stated): Regian Eersel (c) v Alexis Nicolas (kickboxing – for lightweight title); Tye Ruotolo (c) v Izaak Michell (submission grappling – for welterweight title); Kade Ruotolo v Francisco Lo (submission grappling – catchweight); Jacob Smith v Denis Purić (Muay Thai – flyweight); Hiroyuki Tetsuka v Valmir da Silva (welterweight); Jeremy Pacatiw v Wang Shuo (bantamweight); Jihin Radzuan v Ayaka Miura (atomweight).
