ONE Championship 156: Regian Eersel survives huge scare, beats ‘warrior’ Arian Sadikovic to retain title – and win US$50,000 bonus
- Eersel weathers early knockdown to defeat Sadikovic by unanimous decision and defend lightweight kick-boxing title for the fourth time
- Dutch-Surinamese champ feels he has ‘a lot to work on’ after narrow win, hailing his vanquished foe as a future champion
Regian Eersel is still the ONE Championship lightweight kick-boxing champion, but his latest title defence was certainly the most difficult of his reign so far.
The Surinamese-Dutchman, 29, returned to action in the main event of ONE 156 on Friday evening in Singapore, taking on 27-year-old German challenger Arian Sadikovic.
While Eersel ultimately left the Circle with a newly designed title belt slung over his shoulder, his night almost ended in disaster, as he was flattened by a Sadikovic knee in round two.
“That was a really good strike,” he said in his post-fight interview with Mitch Chilson, admitting he lost vision in his left eye for “a few seconds” after the blow.
“But I still got a win.”
Eersel flaunted plenty of veteran poise as he recovered from the knee, cranking up his offence in an effort to regain control of the fight. Yet Sadikovic was competitive for the duration, firing off some particularly impactful strikes in the fifth and final round.
The pair left the judges with an unenviable task on their hands, but it was ultimately Eersel who got his hand raised – with an unmistakable look of relief on his face.