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Muay Thai and kickboxing royalty Buakaw Banchamek thinks 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek Kiatmoo9 might have been on the verge of a first knockout loss under the ONE Championship banner in his rematch against Nabil Anane at ONE 172.
As he always does, the legendary striker took time off his schedule to rewatch the three-round banger and break down all the back-and-forth action inside the Saitama Super Arena on March 23.
After seeing the Team Mehdi Zatout star connect for fun, drop Superlek to the canvas for the first time, and narrowly misfire with a lethal high kick, Buakaw admits the Kiatmoo9 Gym athlete escaped a potential first-round disaster against the six-foot-four tower:
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"That round one, he really took some clean hits. That knee might have rattled him. And that high kick that followed, lucky it didn't land clean. Good thing the round ended, it could have been bad," Buakaw explained during a recent clip posted to his YouTube channel.
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Watch the video here:
Superlek wants Anane trilogy, ready to put dismal Japan performance to bed
Taking nothing away from Anane's error-free performance inside "The Land of the Rising Sun," Superlek didn't look at his usual best in his unanimous decision loss.
For his part, the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, who missed weight and lost his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai crown during fight week, is ready to put that forgettable night in the rear-view mirror.
The Kiatmoo9 Gym broke his silence during a vlog on Yokkao's official YouTube channel, where he threw down the gauntlet and called for a trilogy against the seemingly unstoppable 20-year-old talent:
"Nabil improved compared to before. He's more physically developed, more resilient, and his striking is more diverse than it was before. That's why I want to face him again. I want this rematch at all costs."
Fight fans who missed their fight and any of the action from ONE 172 can watch the event via replay at watch.onefc.com.
