ONE Fight Night 30: “He looks pretty big”

If the great Chingiz Allazov ever feels the itch to return to competition, Regian Eersel believes he should do it at lightweight.

The former ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion, who last competed in 2023, made an appearance as a cornerman for his teammate Roman Kryklia in his title defense against Lyndon Knowles at ONE Fight Night 30 last week.

While the Ukrainian giant stole the show with his thunderous knockout, fans and pundits alike also couldn’t help but notice ‘Chinga’, who was sporting a bigger physique these days.

Even Eersel took note of Allazov’s frame and invited him to rejoin ONE Championship and compete at 170 pounds.

Shortly after dispatching his rival Alexis Nicolas in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 30, ‘The Immortal’ challenged Allazov in an interview with The Bangkok Post:

“He looks pretty big, yeah, maybe, why not? But I’m here. I think I’m the number one challenger right now for the lightweight world title, so we will see.”

Chingiz Allazov dominated the promotion’s 155-pound division where he won five of his six bouts. The 31-year-old striker, though, shocked the world when he relinquished his world title and opted to retire at the height of his career.

Meanwhile, Regian Eersel lost the lightweight kickboxing world title on the scales. The Surinamese superstar has sights on reclaiming that belt and wouldn’t mind fighting the former champion if he ever decides to unretire.

Regian Eersel credits his strong mentality as key to beating Alexis Nicolas

Regian Eersel and Alexis Nicolas have now fought a total of 15 rounds across three straight fights. Fighting someone for that long is not only physically taxing but also quite mentally challenging.

After splitting their first two contests, the Surinamese striker said he won the trilogy because he was simply mentally tougher.

‘The Immortal’ told ONE Championship in his post-event interview:

“The biggest difference? There was not, like, a big difference. Every fight, we were close, but you know, I showed the world why I’m the king of the division, and why I’m a better fighter, also mentally.”

The full replay of ONE Fight Night 30 is available on demand to Prime Video subscribers in North America