Nieky Holzken, often known as “The Natural,” is an iconic figure in the sport of kickboxing in the Netherlands. He believes that he was unprepared to face Sinsamut Klinmee on the night of his terrible second-round knockout loss to the Thai great.
The 39-year-old veteran suggests that it may have been owing to the whirlwind of events preceding up to ONE X fight week, which saw his initial opponent, Islam Murtazaev, drop out of the fight at the very last minute.
‘The Natural’ stated the following in a recent interview with ONE Championship:
“I was meant to fight Islam Murtazaev, and in preparation for that battle, I trained for ten weeks with large [kickboxing] gloves. I received a call saying he was unable to fight just four days before I was scheduled to leave for Singapore.
Naturally, Holzken was ultimately presented with the opportunity to battle Sinsamut Klinmee, a somewhat unknown but extremely hazardous Thai boxer. The Dutch striker consented to the test.
In March of 2022, Holzken and Sinsamut first crossed paths at the famous ONE X. Sinsamut surprised everyone by knocking out ‘The Natural’ in a nasty and surprising method.
Following the defeat, Holzken explained that it was due to the fact that he wasn’t equipped to deal with the rule set of the Muay Thai competition because he had trained for a kickboxing bout the week before.
Holzken said:
“They proposed to him (Sinsamut) that we fight one week later,” Sinsamut said. I am bound by the agreement, yet it does not comply with the kickboxing rules. It was standard practice in Muay Thai. It’s my own fault because I didn’t practice with the smaller gloves.
When Holzken competes in his next bout for ONE Championship, he will have the opportunity to make amends for his past mistakes.
At ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov, which will be broadcast on Prime Video, ‘The Natural’ Nieky Holzken will compete against Arian Sadikovic, a past challenger for the ONE World Title.
On Friday, June 9, the event will be streamed live and completely free to fans in the United States and Canada who have a valid Amazon Prime subscription. The broadcast will originate from the famous Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
