Nabil Anane admits says freakish height was a disadvantage early in his career: “I've been taller than other fighters since I was a kid”

At 6’4” and fighting at bantamweight, Nabil Anane is built unlike anyone else in his division, where the average height is 5'7". But the towering frame that gives him so many advantages today wasn’t always easy to work with.

Looking back at his first time stepping into the ring, the 21-year-old Muay Thai phenom remembers getting chopped down by low kicks and learning quickly what it meant to fight with a target on your legs.

In an interview with Nickynachat, he said:

"I fought for the first time when I was 11. I trained for two months or three months. I went to fight."

Despite the preparation, he took a lot of damage to his legs:

"My leg hurts from being kicked in the leg. The first fight I got kicked in the leg because I was a tall boxer. I was 11 years old, I can't remember how tall I was, but I've been taller than other fighters since I was a kid."

But now that he’s grown into his physique and learned to make the most of his limbs, what was once his biggest disadvantage has become the very thing that makes him so hard to deal with.

Watch the full interview below:

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"Happy with the evolution" - Nabil Anane pleased to see how his career development since world title win at ONE 170

Since becoming the interim ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, life hasn’t exactly changed overnight for Nabil Anane, but more opportunities are starting to come in. More training, more fights, and more room to grow.

"It's the same as before, my life is the same but there are a lot of opportunities coming my way," he said. "But I'm happy with that, I'm happy with the evolution of my career since winning the title, being able to constantly work on something."

See how Nabil Anane earned interim gold at ONE 170, available via replay on watch.onefc.com.