Even With World Title, Eersel Says His ‘Best Version’ Still To Come
Regian “The Immortal” Eersel is ready to put his ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title on the line once again.
The dominant striker has already bludgeoned his way through the division’s top contenders, and now he’ll welcome newcomer Islam Murtazaev to the Circle at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS this Friday, 3 December.
Ahead of his main event showdown at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, “The Immortal” spoke with ONE Commentator Michael “The Voice” Schiavello to offer some final thoughts.
“I feel mentally like I can fight the whole world. Physically, I am in very good shape. I trained very hard for this fight, and you will see it on 3 December,” Eersel said.
Despite carrying a 17-fight winning streak into this matchup with Murtazaev, the Dutch-Surinamese titleholder recently stated that he doesn’t get enough respect for his stunning run.
Eersel still wants that recognition, though he also believes that fans still haven’t witnessed the absolute best of his abilities.
“I feel a little bit that I have the credit that I deserve. But on the other side, not really, but it’s been like that almost my whole career,” he said.
“I think it’s because Iet my actions speak in the ring, and outside the ring I’m quite a nice guy.
“I don’t feel like I’ve reached my peak yet. I feel like the best version of myself is still to come out. I’m just 28 years old. I think I have eight or 10 years to go, so we will see.”
If “The Immortal” can offer up another dominant showing to defend his ONE gold for the third time, he would further solidify himself as the best lightweight kickboxer on the planet – but he’s not getting ahead of himself.
The reigning king knows Murtazaev will present a serious threat when they square off in Singapore, and he’s ready to face that challenge head-on.
“Every opponent has his own good side and bad side, and I think Islam has a dangerous style of fighting. I know he’s a tough opponent,” Eersel said.
“He has a lot of Muay Thai fights, and he likes spinning attacks, so we anticipated that in the training a little bit. But we are not focusing too much on the ability of my opponent. We are looking at my abilities and what we can improve.”
With a 5-0 record in ONE, the Amsterdam resident has looked unstoppable since joining the promotion, and any challenger will need the performance of a lifetime to tear the belt from his grasp.
That includes Murtazaev, who must prove he can handle the giant step up in class – and Eersel’s signature marauding style.
If the Russian starts to crumble under pressure, the champ will be ready to take advantage.
“I think I am better than everybody else because I have an unorthodox style and I have an aggressive style,” Eersel added. “I punch, kick, and knee from different angles and it surprises my opponents.
“My prediction? It’s very hard [to say]. A fight is a fight, anything can happen, but I hope I will win by KO.”
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