“Both fighters are very dangerous” - Bantamweight Muay Thai king Superlek excited for interim title fight between Nico Carrillo, Nabil Anane

While Superlek Kiatmoo9 will no longer partake in the blockbuster ONE 170 card this Friday, he urged fans to keep their eyes peeled for the battle between Nico Carrillo and his replacement Nabil Anane.

The reigning bantamweight Muay Thai world champion was forced to pull out of his first title defense against the Scottish mauler due to a knee injury in training.

Stepping in on late notice will be no.5 ranked Anane, who will have the golden opportunity to vie for the interim Muay Thai world title on Jan. 24 inside Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

In an exclusive interview with ONE Championship, Superlek shared his excitement for this guaranteed war between two proven finishers:

“Fans shouldn’t miss this fight at all because it’s going to be a great fight. It’s an Interim World Title fight, and both fighters are very dangerous right now. It’s definitely going to be exciting."

Carrillo rose to the second spot in the loaded 145-pound Muay Thai ranks following a 4-0 run in the world's largest martial arts organization. So far, no one has been able to survive 'King of The North's' ferocious fists of fury since he has finished everyone in his path.

Anane, on the other hand, went on a remarkable five-fight winning streak after losing his promotional debut to Superlek.

Nico Carrillo thanks ONE for acting fast after Superlek's injury

Nico Carrillo would have loved nothing more than to be the one to dethrone the great Superlek.

While initially disappointed that he could no longer face arguably the pound-for-pound best striker in the world, the 26-year-old is grateful to stay on the card and vie for the interim gold against another formidable foe.

'King of the North' told ONE:

"With Superlek being out, it was a tough one at first. But when it quickly got rearranged for the interim World Title, I was quickly put at ease because I'd already put in weeks and weeks of hard work."

ONE 170 will air live in Asian Primetime via watch.onefc.com.