Regian Eersel Wants His “First Baby” Back At The Inner Circle On April 10
The last time Regian Eersel lost the ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title, he was not beaten for it. He won his fight, walked out of Lumpinee Stadium with his hand raised, but had the belt stripped anyway after failing to make weight while hydrated. That is the particular sting he has been carrying into every session since, and Friday night at The Inner Circle is where he intends to put it down for good.
The 10-time ONE World Champion faces Rungrawee “Legatron” Sitsongpeenong for the vacant ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title on April 10, live in Asia primetime from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.
Eersel has described this title as something altogether different from the rest of his collection.
“I hope I get my baby back, my first baby, my first title in ONE Championship,” he said. “I won it in 2019. So yeah, in 2026 I hope I reclaim it, win it again, and become a double champ again. It has a special place. It was my first title, and I also held it the longest.”
The man standing between Eersel and that reclamation is no soft touch. Rungrawee is a dangerous southpaw whose entire game is built around punishing leg kicks, calf attacks, and the kind of relentless combination work that steadily dismantles opponents’ rhythm and will. Eersel has mapped him out thoroughly and arrived at a clear-eyed read of what is coming.
“I anticipate everything,” Eersel said. “Leg kicks, calf kicks, kicks on my right leg because he stands southpaw, kicks on the inside leg. So I’m training for everything.”
The Surinamese-Dutch striker is not walking in hoping for an early finish. He prepares for the worst version of the fight and trusts his conditioning and durability to handle whatever comes. His mindset heading into Friday is characteristically meticulous.
“In my mind, I always think we’re going to fight five rounds. Always,” he said. “If I see the opening, I will go for it, of course. But I don’t expect a knockout. I expect a full five-round war, a technical war between me and Rungrawee.”
One reputation Eersel is happy to exploit is the one opponents persistently form about him before they feel what he actually brings. The 6-foot-2 Sityodtong Amsterdam product does not look like a punishing hitter, and fighters have made the mistake of trusting that impression more than once.
“I think a lot of fighters underestimate me a little bit,” he said. “They see a tall, skinny guy and think he cannot punch that hard or kick that hard. Then the moment they feel it, I see the frustration in their eyes, like, ‘What is this? I didn’t expect this.’ It’s going to be very explosive, and you’re going to watch me reclaim my kickboxing title back. Then I’m going to say: the king is back.”
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