ONE 156: Arian Sadikovic reveals ‘right hand’ as weapon against Regian Eersel

Bengaluru, April 21: Arian Sadikovic reveals how he'll put an end to Regian Eersel's title reign this Friday (April 22) in ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

"Game Over" Sadikovic admitted that the opportunity to take on ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Champion Eersel came sooner than expected. But he'll take his chances when he battles the divisional king in the main event.

"I was surprised a little bit. I thought I needed to fight Nieky Holzken because he was number one in the rankings. So, I thought, 'Okay, I will fight Holzken, and if I win, I'll get a title shot.' But that wasn't the case," the German competitor shared with ONEFC.com.

Even if his opportunity arrived early, he will give it his best shot. Dethroning Eersel won't be a stroll in the park because the Dutch-Surinamese titleholder has defended his crown three times and is on an 18-fight winning streak.

Eersel has won all six of his fights in ONE Championship and has a 57-4 record. But while the reigning ONE World Champion has been nearly invisible throughout his career, Sadikovic is confident of his own chances because of his technical ability and aggression.

To be successful, he'll have to replicate the performance he had against Mustapha "Dynamite" Haida in his ONE debut. But with a prestigious prize up for grabs, the German striker would like to win emphatically.

"Like always," he said, "I'm a fighter who's going for KOs. The dream ending is a good right hand to his face and knock him out."

Looking into the future, Sadikovic would also like to test himself in mixed martial arts. He wouldn't mind participating in a mixed rules contest similar to what Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson and Rodtang "Iron Man" Jitmuangnon had at ONE X last month.

Furthermore, the Fightschool Hannover and Team CSK representative named a fighter he would like to face in that kind of a showdown.

"You know last time [ONE] made a special rules bout? Rodtang versus 'Mighty Mouse'? Maybe something like that for my first MMA fight. Maybe against [Eddie] Alvarez. I think this would be a perfect matchup. I think it would be a perfect fight," the challenger with a 22-3 career record said.

Before that happens, his focus is solely on defeating Eersel. It will take a remarkable performance to take the belt away from "The Immortal." But as his nickname suggests, "Game Over" is keen on ending Eersel's tenure as World Champion.

"Of course, I'm focused on the World Title. I'm not coming for jokes there. That's the plan," Sadikovic said.

Watch ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on Disney+ Hotstar, beginning with the lead card at 2:30 PM IST this Friday (April 22). The main card broadcasts live on Disney+ Hotstar at 6 PM IST.

Source: Media Release