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The reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, Nabil Anane, admits being surprised that his relationship with Superlek Kiatmoo9 turned sour ever since their showdown last March.
The Thai-Algerian phenom shot to superstardom after he dominated one of the pound-for-pound best strikers in the world in their rematch at ONE 172.
To be fair, there was plenty of drama heading into that epic match-up. For starters, Superlek was stripped of the belt after missing weight.
'The Kicking Machine' reportedly no longer wanted to push through with the match-up, but later accepted a three-round non-title battle.
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Anane went on to score a massive knockdown against Superlek and cruised to a decisive unanimous decision victory.
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The 21-year-old sensation, who was the interim champ, was also elevated to undisputed bantamweight world champion a few months after that match-up.
In a recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Nabil Anane said he had no control over the circumstances of that fight and remains baffled over what transpired:
"So what can I do? You know, I don’t know what happened that day. I don't know why he was angry at me. I didn't do anything. But yeah, the fight happened and that's it. So, you know, just forget it."
Nabil Anane says Superlek looked out of character in their rematch
Nabil Anane revealed that Superlek has always been respectful of him ever since their first fight back in 2023.
However, that friendly rivalry was thrown out the window at ONE 172, after 'The Kicking Machine' unfairly directed his frustrations towards Anane.
"I was surprised. I remember the faceoff with Superlek because he's always super respectful and very humble as well. But I remember he was really angry that day. I don't know what happened to him," Anane told SCMP.
The Team Mehdi Zatout athlete continued:
"I was supposed to be the one who was angry, you know, because I came on weight and everything, and he didn't come on weight. He missed weight and stuff, and he put the blame on me."
Watch Nabil Anane's SCMP interview in its entirety:
