ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was one of many who were blown away by Nabil Anane’s performance at ONE 170 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The combat sports mogul watched on as the Thai-Algerian obliterated #2-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Nico Carrillo inside one frame last Friday, January 24. In doing so, Anane was crowned the ONE Interim Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion.
Anane’s win set up a prolific unification bout with two-sport, two-division king Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.
Their first encounter in June 2023 at ONE Friday Fights 22 saw Superlek blitz the 6-foot-4 star in less than three minutes. But two years removed, Sityodtong believes the World Title rematch will be a much different affair.
“In the first fight Nabil had with Superlek, Superlek came in with a game plan and focused on the leg kick and the body shot, and I was quite surprised that Nabil got knocked out,” Sityodtong said.
“But then I had a chance to talk with Mehdi Zatout, his coach. His coach said that Nabil, at the time, didn’t focus a hundred percent on the training because he had personal problems and family problems at the time.
“But this fight, what just happened? Nabil had dedicated a hundred percent into the training camp, and it looks like Nabil is a new person now.”
