ONE Fight Night 21 ‘Eersel vs. Nicolas’ Play-by-Play & Results

Round 1

Our first muay thai fight of the night begins with Kiatsongrit
eating a steep from Silva. Kiatsongrit is composed and fires back
with a hard leg kick. Both men are having success with kicks.
Kiatsongrit starts firing to the body more with punches and is
hurting Silva. An explosive 1-2 lands for Kiatsongrit. Silva seems
outgunned as the power differential is clear. Big right hand for
Kiatsongrit lands. Two right hands land for Kiatsongrit. 10-9
Kiatsongrit.

Round 2

The second round starts with Kiatsongrit feeling confident and
throwing heavy shots. A right hand gets through cleanly and sits
down Silva! Our first knockdown of the night. Silva still coming
forward and trying to work his jab. Every punch from Kiatsongrit
backs up his opponent. Lots of combination hooks are being thrown
by Kiatsongrit. Silva gets cornered and eats a right hand and then
an elbow. The two clinch and Kiatsongrit throws down Silva. This is
getting one-sided. 10-8 Kiatsongrit.

Round 3

Powerful leg kicks land for Kiatsongrit, who then throws a jumping
switch kick that lands. Silva trying to jab but isn’t doing
anything to force the action with only one round left. Silva misses
an overhand right. Kiatsongrit counters with a right hand that
lands. Some nice knees from Silva, who is then thrown down by
Kiatsongrit. Nice body kicks from Kiatsongrit land. One minute
left. Silva lands a leg kick but then eats a punch. Kiatsongrit
looks extremely fresh and fires off body kicks. Silva comes up
short with an elbow. They clinch and the fight is over shortly
afterward. 10-9 Kiatsongrit (30-26 Kiatsongrit).

The Official Result

Songchainoi Kiatsongrit def. Nicolas Leite Silva via Unanimous
Decision.

Round 1

Tetsuka shoots in for a takedown, but it is stuffed by da Silva. A
big right hand from the Brazilian drops Tetsuka. Da Silva lands a
heavy leg kick. Tetsuka lands an overhand right, and da Silva
throws him to the ground. Tetsuka gives up half-guard. Da Silva
does some slight damage before standing up. It’s a measured pace on
the feet, with neither man throwing recklessly. Tetsuka gets a
takedown after a leg kick is thrown by da Silva. A guillotine choke
is attempted by da Silva, but it’s more to stall and nullify than
submit. 10-9 da Silva.

Round 2

Tetsuka immediately gets a takedown to start the second frame. Da
Silva again uses a guillotine choke to nullify, although Tetsuka is
in half-guard and is in no danger. Tetsuka gets out and lands a few
shoulder strikes and short elbows to the body. The referee warns
Tetsuka to work as we hit the halfway mark. Some nice elbows to the
ribcage of da Silva.
Tetsuka transitions and then locks in a north-south choke. Da Silva
struggles to get out and taps! This is over.

The Official Result

Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Valmir da Silva via Submission (North-South
Choke); R2, 3:34.

Round 1

The first of two kickboxing matches begins with TDed99 and Naito
trading leg kicks. Naito is getting the better of the early
exchanges as he’s a bit quicker. Both men land kicks to the body.
Nice right hand from TDed99. Naito eats a right hand. TDed99 is
throwing more punches than his foe and is finding success with it.
A nice push kick by TDed99. The head of TDed99 jars back after a
nice 1-2 from Naito. Very close round. 10-9 Naito.

Round 2

Nice left hook lands for Naito. Both exchange leg kicks. TDed99
aggressively misses a body kick and eats a leg kick afterward.
Naito doing a great job timing his blows. Nice body kick for Naito,
who is also throwing more punches than in the first round. A solid
body kick lands for TDed99, who is the more physical fighter of the
two. Naito goes down during an exchange, but it is ruled a slip.
TDed99 lands a body kick but then eats a 1-2 combination. TDed99
ends the round strongly with an aggressive combination. 10-9
TDed99.

Round 3

The final round opens with both men exchanging body kicks. Naito is
much more aggressive and is swinging hooks. Naito finding some
success, although counters from TDed99 slip through. Nice push kick
from Naito to find his distance. The Japanese kickboxer has the
sharper hands now that he is letting go. Nice punches to the body
by Naito. TDed99 is taking a lot of shots to the body but isn’t
slowing down. Damaging low kicks from TDed99. Naito eats a body
kick and then comes forward with punches. This is a very close
fight. Hooks from Naito find their mark as the fight comes to the
end with evenly-paced action from both men. 10-9 Naito (29-28
Naito).

The Official Result

Dedduanglek TDed99 def. Taiki Naito via Unanimous Decision; R3,
3:00.

Round 1

The night’s first grappling match has a 10-minute time limit. Both
men attempt to take the other down with no success. Lo tries to
jump into a triangle but misses. Eventually, Ruotolo gets a
takedown and winds up in guard. Lo has a body triangle. Largely a
stalemate on the ground. Lo is trying to isolate an arm with no
success. Ruotolo grabs the neck only to let it go immediately
afterward. Lo gets out and works his way back to his feet. Six
minutes left. Lo jumps guard and looks for a heel hook.

Ruotolo scrambles and instantly gets the back of Lo. The American
is looking for a rear-naked choke and gets it. Lo
taps! Ruotolo is incredible.

The Official Result

Kade Ruotolo def. Francisco Lo via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke);
R1, 4:48.

Round 1

Smith takes the center of the ring and fires off a body kick. Nice
leg kicks from Puric, who has a speed advantage. Smith is clearly
more powerful and is throwing with bad intentions. Nice leg kick by
Smith. Puric answers with two of his own. Redness developing on
Smith’s legs. Nice knee by Puric, who is the busier fighter. Smith
hits Puric low, and the fight is paused momentarily. The fight
resumes. Puric comes out with some nice knees, but Smith clinches
and lands several thudding elbows. The round ends with Puric
catching a kick and throwing a spinning back kick in return. 10-9
Puric.

Round 2

A wild start to the round sees Puric toss Smith off of him after
catching a knee. Smith is very aggressive and clinches. They get
tangled up, and Puric falls. Smith lands a sweep on Puric. Nice
straight right from Puric lands, which is followed up with a left
hook. Smith is moving forward nonstop. Puric lunging in and then
moving away. Overhand right for Puric lands. Smith gets caught
reaching. Puric is using his jab and lands a right hook. Wow! A
perfectly timed uppercut puts down Smith. It’s ruled a knockdown,
which Smith protests. He pops back up and is put down again at the
very end of the round with a right straight and a left hook. 10-7
Puric.

Round 3

The right side of Smith’s face is bloodied. Puric is forced to
fight defensively, as Smith is extremely aggressive. An illegal
elbow lands from Smith, which lands on the back of the head. Smith
protests, but it was clearly illegal. No point is taken. Smith
lands a body kick and eats one in return. Smith tosses down Puric
and then knees Puric to the back in frustration. Smith is once
again warned. Smith is a terribly sore loser. It’s pretty
embarrassing to watch. Puric lands a nice 1-2. 30 seconds left.
Smith throws his opponent down and Puric is happy to eat time.
Smith lands a body kick and throws an elbow as the bell rings. 10-9
Smith (29-26 Puric).

The Official Result

Denis Puric def. Jacob Smith via Unanimous Decision; R3,
3:00.

Round 1

This is the final muay thai fight on the card. Pran49 lands a nice
straight left. Kuzmin is coming up short on his arm strikes,
although he’s landed a few low kicks. Pran49 catches a kick and
misses a right hook. Kuzmin clips his foe with an elbow. Nice push
kick by Kuzmin. A huge left hand puts down Kuzmin, but a knockdown
isn’t called. Pran49 slips the guard and tags Kuzmin with a
straight left. 10-9 Pran49.

Round 2

The power of Pran49 is the difference maker. Kuzmin eats a push
kick. Pran49 counters a leg kick with a well-timed left hand.
Kuzmin eats a left hook well. Pran49 tosses Kuzmin to the ground
and sweeps him again a few seconds later. Pran49 is in control,
punishing Kuzmin with left hands before tossing him to the ground.
Kuzmin is still in this, though, and landing some solid kicks.
However, the hands of Pran49 are doing too much damage. 10-9
Pran49.

Round 3

Kuzmin starts the final round more aggressively. A nice right hand
lands for Kuzmin. Pran49 is picking his shots and mostly countering
with kicks early on. Pran49 ducks under a spinning back fist.
Kuzmin throws Pran49 to the ground. Pran49 lands some knees to the
body after they clinch. Pran49 is clinching and largely coasting
this round. Kuzmin lands a few low kicks. Pran49 catches his
opponent with a quick left hand. The fight ends with Pran49 kneeing
the body while clinching before they are separated. 10-9 Kuzmin
(29-28 Pran49).

The Official Result

Suablack Tor Pran49 def. Vladimir Kuzmin via Unanimous Decision;
R3, 3:00.

Submission Grappling World Title Fight:
Tye
Ruotolo (184) vs. Izaak
Michell (184)

Round 1

The first championship fight of the night. Ruotolo shoots in and is
stuffed by Michell. The Australian looks for a takedown himself but
Ruotolo defends well. Neither is having any success taking the
other down after two minutes. Michell is clearly the stronger man.
Michell tries to take the back of Ruotolo, but the American trips
his opponent and gets into mount. Ruotolo takes the back and is
looking for a rear-naked choke. The American sinks the choke in,
and Michell taps. Yet another Ruotolo submission win.

The Official Result

Tye Ruotolo def. Izaak Michell via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke);
R1, 4:43.

Sherdog.com experienced technical issues during the main event, but
here’s a quick recap: There’s a new king in ONE
Championship, and his name is Alexis
Nicolas. The undefeated French kickboxing phenom shocked the
world Friday night by dethroning lightweight kickboxing champion
Regian
Eersel by unanimous decision in the
ONE Fight Night 21 main event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in
Bangkok, Thailand.

Nicolas had his work cut out for him in this one. Eersel entered
confidently after winning his last 22 fights over the past eight
years and claiming both ONE’s 170-pound kickboxing and muay thai
titles. Eersel’s confidence showed early as the champ looked to
land heavy punches and knees on Nicolas.

Nicolas would make the champ pay for his overconfidence in Round 2
after catching Eersel on the temple. The champ hit the canvas for a
second before immediately popping up and continuing his attack.

From that moment, the fight was a war, with Nicolas withstanding
everything coming his way. Both men landed beautiful blows, and the
fight could’ve gone either way, but Nicolas’s knockdown was the
deciding factor. With the win, Nicolas improved to 24-0. Eersel
still holds the ONE 170-pound muay thai title, but an immediate
rematch with Nicolas could definitely be in the cards.