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ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 is eager to complete his trilogy with Nabil Anane, anticipating an all-out war should they meet again inside the Circle.
'The Kicking Machine' shut down the Thai-Algerian phenom in their first encounter with an opening-round stoppage back at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June 2023.
Though he saw himself pulling clear in their rivalry at 2-0 ahead of their rematch at ONE 172, things went from bad to worse for the striking genius.
The fighting pride of Kiatmoo9 Gym was forced to surrender his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title after missing weight. On fight night, Anane largely outplayed him for three rounds en route to a well-deserved unanimous decision win.
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Rather than dwell on what he could have done better, he is focused on rectifying his shortcomings in a third battle.
"Yes, definitely if I have a chance I would want a rematch," Superlek told the South China Morning Post when asked if he feels the need to set things straight with Anane. "It's just because, like I know that it wouldn't be easy, but could be more fun."
Watch his interview with the South China Morning Post (SCMP) below:
Superlek's loss in "The Land of the Rising Sun" put a stop to his 11-fight win streak under the ONE banner. Meanwhile, Anane moved to seven wins in succession since suffering a debut defeat to the aforementioned star.
Fans who missed any of the action from ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang can rewatch the entire card at watch.onefc.com.
Superlek reveals reason why he did not turn down Nabil Anane fight
In the same interview with SCMP, Superlek opened up about the circumstances surruonding his last match and why he decided to show up on fight night despite catching an illness just weeks out of his rematch against Anane.
Per the ONE world champion, he felt the need to put his gold on the line after withdrawing from his previously scheduled world title defense against Nico Carrillo at ONE 170 in January. He said:
"Nico Carrillo and Nabil both want the championship belts, and if I just keep denying them the chance - it's just not - it’s just not it, you know."
"But then it just came to this, that I made a mistake and it resulted in whatever it is that you guys are seeing," he added.
