Nabil Anane Promoted To Undisputed ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion

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Dreams do come true - just as they did for 21-year-old striking phenom Nabil Anane. He is now the undisputed ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion. ONE Championship officially announced his promotion during ONE Friday Fights 114 last week.

Reacting to this life-altering announcement, Anane was overwhelmed with emotion and said: "I don't have anything to say. My brother won. I just won the belt. I don't know what to say. I was shaking when they told me."

Indeed, it was a special day for the Anane family as their young blood and teen sensation Yonis Anane made his successful ONE debut against Liu Junchao. Yonis battered his Chinese rival to score a unanimous decision win, marking the start of a promising career.

Nabil now has a target on his back, as top contenders will do everything to take the belt away from him. When asked about the challengers, he replied: "I don't choose anybody. If they have the chance to fight me, they got the opportunity to fight me. Let's do this."

The Team Mehdi Zatout star had to work hard to achieve this success. His entry into ONE Championship, however, didn't go as planned. The man who began his Muay Thai journey at 11 years old faced one of the pound-for-pound striking greats Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Anane suffered a first-round knockout loss that left him devastated, but he went to the drawing board to fill the gaps in his game. The 6-foot-4 superstar then went on to win five consecutive fights, and he ultimately earned an Interim World Title bout against Nico Carrillo in January 2025.

The Algerian-Thai did the unthinkable and TKO'd the Scottish knockout artist in the first round to become the interim champion. He was then slated to unify the belt against reigning champion Superlek at ONE 172 in March 2025.

Fans expected a firefight, but things took a turn before the event as the Thai champion in Superlek missed weight and was stripped of his title. The pair then fought in a non-title match, where Anane emerged victorious.

That was the best performance yet from the young phenom, as he settled the score with Superlek. Now, after three months of that victory, Anane has been promoted to the top of the division and plans to rule it with an iron fist.

(An Excerpt from Agency)