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Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek recently did a recap of the rematch between top bantamweight Muay Thai fighters Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Nabil Anane. He highlighted that 'The Kicking Machine' was not in his utmost best unlike in their first match, which led to his defeat.
Superlek lost by unanimous decision to ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Anane in their rematch at ONE 172 last month in Japan. He tried to add up on his knockout victory in their first encounter in June 2023 but the Algerian-Thai phenom did not allow it, coming up with a perfect foil to exact payback.
On his official YouTube channel, Buakaw broke down what took place at Superlek-Anane II at ONE 172, pointing out that while Anane was solid with his game plan, the Kiatmoo9 Gym standout was nowhere near the potency he had in the first match.
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Buakaw said:
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"I believe in his smart and strategic fighting style. In the first fight, he didn't make it easy for Nabil. Superlek outsmarted him. I praised Superlek for that. He really knew what he was doing."
The showdown at ONE 172 was supposed to be a unification bout until Superlek was stripped of the bantamweight Muay Thai world title for missing weight and failing hydration tests. It still proceeded but reconfigured as a non-title, three-round match,
The defeat halted an 11-fight winning streak for Superlek and dropped him to 15-2 in ONE Championship.
Liam Harrison also believes Superlek was not at his best in rematch with Nabil Anane
Another legend who believed Superlek Kiatmoo9 was not at his best in his rematch with Nabil Anane at ONE 172 was Liam Harrison.
'Hitman' shared his thoughts on it in an interview with the South China Morning Post, underscoring that what Superlek showcased in his last match was not what fans have grown accustomed to seeing from a fighter his caliber.
Harrison said:
"There were no kicks, there was no game plan, there was just that right punch. Obviously, there might have been a reason behind this and some stuff..."
He, however, said that the Kiatmoo9 Gym standout remains a top-notch fighter and should be a handful in a possible trilogy match with Anane, sharing:
"But still, [he] needs to go away, regroup, come back, and get to his best. And if he does, then I think he’s the only one who might be able to stop Nabil at that weight."
Check out what Harrison had to say below:
