Regian Eersel Vs. Sinsamut Klinmee II: 4 Keys To Victory In Muay Thai World Title Rematch
For the second time in five months, two-sport ONE World Champion Regian Eersel and Thai knockout artist Sinsamut Klinmee are set to battle for lightweight Muay Thai gold, this time at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The highly anticipated showdown will take place in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 9 on March 17, with Eersel looking to extend his incredible six-year unbeaten streak and Sinsamut hoping to take home the belt he previously came oh-so-close to capturing.
The pair of standout strikers first met last October at ONE on Prime Video 3 when the Surinamese-Dutch fighter earned a narrow split-decision victory after five rounds of high-paced action to secure the inaugural ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title.
Now, as we are just a day away from this World Title affair, here are each man’s keys to victory.
Regian Eersel Must Use His Jab
The lightweight kickboxing and Muay Thai king possesses an 8-inch reach advantage over the challenger, and his piston-like jab will be the best way to press that advantage.
In their first fight, “The Immortal” consistently found a home for his thudding jab, damaging Sinsamut by the end of the bout.
Eersel’s jab also worked as a defensive tool, stopping the Thai in his tracks each time he blitzed forward with a flurry of strikes.
Moreover, the jab can be the centerpiece of Eersel’s offensive game. Time and time again, he was able to land bigger strikes on Sinsamut after starting his combinations with the jab, which both set his range and disrupted his opponent’s rhythm.
Sinsamut Klinmee Has To Feint
Naturally, “Aquaman” doesn’t want to stand far away from the taller, rangier Eersel – he must get close.
But as much as he wants to score the knockout, the 27-year-old cannot afford to simply rush forward with heavy strikes. When Sinsamut did that in their first World Title encounter, “The Immortal” was able to easily evade the rush or, worse, land a big counter-strike.
The Thai star did find success when he employed feints. The titleholder has arguably the best defense in all of striking, so landing heavy shots requires nuanced setups and plenty of feints.
Sinsamut would be wise to invest in fakes and feints early to create openings for the knockout later because Eersel is just too talented to be caught off guard with straightforward, predictable attacks.
Regian Eersel Should Attack With Knees
Throughout his dominant seven-fight run through ONE’s lightweight kickboxing division, the Surinamese-Dutch star’s punishing knee strikes have been some of his best weapons.
But in his Muay Thai battle with Sinsamut, he hardly threw any knees, perhaps out of respect for the challenger’s devastatingly powerful counter-punches.
In the rematch, Eersel should let the knees fly. Whether he’s landing them to the head or body, they are his most damaging strikes and would prevent Sinsamut from stringing together punch combinations when up close.
And because he didn’t throw any knees in the first fight, “The Immortal” would likely catch his foe off-guard and surprise him with the new attack.
Sinsamut Klinmee Has To Throw Fierce Combinations
“Aquaman” opened up his ONE career with back-to-back highlight-reel knockouts, firmly establishing himself as the division’s most feared knockout artist.
But against Eersel and his elite defensive prowess, the knockout will never come easily. In addition to utilizing feints to create openings, Sinsamut should frequently strike in combination, stringing together his thunderous punches and kicks one after another.
Last October, the Thai struggled to land single strikes. It was only when he put together multi-strike combinations that he was able to dismantle the champion’s seemingly impenetrable defense.
On March 17, Sinsamut must lean heavily on his combination striking if he hopes to score another sensational knockout and walk out of Lumpinee Boxing Stadium as the new ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Champion.
