ONE Championship: WATCH: Young phenom Nabil Anane goes headhunting in picture-perfect head kick of Superlek, exacts vengeful win in Japan

ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane drew strength from his desire to exact revenge on ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 when they crossed paths for a second time at ONE 172 in March. Eager to make 'The Kicking Machine' feel every bit of his pent-up frustration, Anane blitzed him hard and early into their rematch, which led to a surprising knockdown late in the first round.

The 6-foot-4 Anane nearly repeated the feat with about 30 seconds left in the second round, courtesy of a blindingly fast head kick that staggered the Kiatmoo9 Gym star badly.

Check out the entire sequence below, which ONE posted on Instagram:

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The Thai-Algerian continued to batter Superlek well into the third round and tried multiple times to secure the finish, though it did not come to fruition.

Despite this, judges acknowledged Anane's bell-to-bell dissection of Superlek with a unanimous decision win—finally avenging his June 2023 first-round knockout defeat.

Originally, Anane and Superlek's second encounter was supposed to be a ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship unification bout.

However, Superlek lost the 145-pound Muay Thai crown on the scales, which led to their ONE 172 showdown being changed to a non-title Muay Thai bout.

Superlek looking forward to a likely third chapter with Nabil Anane

Superlek was understandably disappointed in himself for missing weight and being stripped of the crown, but he promised that fans would see him in prime form ahead of a potential trilogy bout with Nabil Anane.

He recently told the South China Morning Post:

"I know myself that last time I did not do really well, and so I know that my performance was not where it should be. So I just want to rematch, as you said, to set things straight."

Watch the entire interview here:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Krishna Venki