ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Champion Alexis Nicolas shocked the world when he snapped the epic 22-fight win streak of Surinamese superstar Regian Eersel this past April. Now, he’s tasked with repeating the feat in the ONE Fight Night 25 main event on October 4. The highly anticipated rematch takes place at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
After his stunning unanimous decision win over “The Immortal”, Nicolas began to notice that he was getting recognized back in his native France. His newfound global stardom has only driven “Barboza” to shoot for even greater heights.
“Everybody was proud in France. Now, a lot of people know me and recognize me in the street. My mother is so proud of me, but she knows that I have to stay focused. She told me I have to stay focused. Now I’m the king, and everybody wants to take the crown, so I have to stay focused. Make more money, build my empire, and fight, fight, fight,” he told onefc.com.
Aside from his individual goals, Nicolas is also determined to take the entire sport of kickboxing on his back in a bid to take it to a new level of popularity. A part of that plan, he says, involves the undefeated 26-year-old endearing himself to more audiences via his newfound platform with ONE.
“I have to become a superstar in France and in all the world. Now, I am in France, but I want to do the same thing in Thailand, all over the world, in the U.S. So I have to fight, and I have to show that kickboxing is a very good sport and make everybody want to do kickboxing, so I have to speak better English. It’s a very good thing because now I’m recognized,” he said.
All of that will go up in smoke, however, if Nicolas can’t beat Eersel a second time. From there, it would just be a matter of picking off anyone who steps up to the plate until the 24-0 star stands alone at the top of his sport.
“A lot of fights, a lot of winning, a lot of KOs, and of course, a lot of money because I need to build my empire to make my family and me safe. I want to become a superstar. I want to be appreciated by ONE Championship fans. I just want to fight. Like, if I can fight every three months, I’ll fight every three months. If I can fight more, I’m ready. Kickboxing is my life, so I don’t want to just be a superstar. I want to be a super fighter,” he said.
