“A more difficult task for me” - Superlek admits it will be harder to finish Nabil Anane in his current form 

Despite already owning a first-round knockout win over Nabil Anane, Superlek Kiatmoo9 remains vigilant ahead of their do-over at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.

'The Kicking Machine' has made it a habit of never underestimating an opponent, especially one who has made giant strides like Anane.

As far as the two-sport and two-division kingpin is concerned, the 20-year-old phenom is a completely different fighter now and wouldn't be easy to put down.

Superlek shared in a ONE Championship interview:

"Another key factor that will make this fight different from the first is Nabil is now very hungry and confident. After defeating many top-level fighters, I am confident that Nabil will not give in to me easily this time, and it will be a more difficult task for me. It will be interesting to see if I can handle him or not."

Anane was thrown into the lion's den in his promotional debut back in 2023, where he stumbled into a roadblock against arguably the pound-for-pound best striker in the world.

The Algerian-Thai tower used that pain as motivation to win his next six matches, punctuated by winning the interim bantamweight Muay Thai gold.

That 26 pounds of gold, of course, set him up for a rematch with his tormentor in the much-awaited world title unification bout at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.

---

Superlek proud to be the only one to solve Nabil Anane's puzzle

Nabil Anane's imposing height and reach are indeed a problem for anyone in the 145-pound ranks.

Somehow, someway, Superlek found a way to overcome the 6-foot-4 totempole's physical gifts. In the same interview, 'The Kicking Machine' says he takes great pride in being the only fighter in ONE to beat Anane.

"Every time that Nabil fought, he fought in the same style that he lost to me in his debut fight. But it's because other opponents couldn't find a way to get close to him. Almost everyone was a victim of Nabil’s clinch and knee, so no one could defeat him."

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will emanate from Saitama Super Arena on March 23. Don't miss this martial arts spectacle by watching the global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.