Nabil Anane Fulfills His “Dream” by Defeating Striking Great Superlek at ONE 172

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Superlek Kiatmoo9 was a fighter many world-class athletes tried to defeat but failed. So, it was shocking when interim king Nabil Anane did the unthinkable and demolished him with his powerful strikes on 23 March.

Initially, at ONE 172, this fight was billed as a ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title unification bout. However, during weigh-ins, Superlek missed weight and was stripped of his lineal title. Later, both fighters agreed to a non-title Muay Thai bout.

The 6-foot-4 star suffered a loss against Superlek in his ONE debut. However, he got his revenge by snapping the 29-year-old's 11-fight win streak. Anane said he feels elated by this win and it was his dream to defeat the pound-for-pound striking great.

"I feel so happy. Thank you so much, to everyone who have always been behind me. I had so much sacrifice for this fight for years and before this fight, also the whole preparation, [it was] very tough and a lot of sacrifices, and tonight, I made it," Anane said.

"Winning [against] Superlek means a lot to me because this was my dream and my first goal, and I have achieved it. And the title, I feel bad that it wasn't a match with a title. But what can I do, I don't know."

Fans expected a close fight between the two, but what followed surprised everyone. The young phenom outclassed his legendary opponent at every step. He even scored a knockdown in the first round.

The Algerian-Thai star's kicks and combinations were sharp and precise. "The Kicking Machine" tried to counter, but it wasn't his day. Anane admitted that everything went as expected, as he had worked hard for this contest.

"Everything went according to plan, and thanks to Mehdi Zatout, who [had] come up with a plan and trained me very hard for this fight. I want to let everyone know because a lot of people think that if you're tall, you have the advantage," Anane said.

"It's not. I got a lot of hard training. I trained very hard for this. If being tall is the sole reason that you can win, I want to invite everyone who is tall to come and fight and become a champion."