‘Hobbyist’ Nabil Anane says he had no idea he would become a professional fighter

ONE Championship newcomer Nabil Anane's combat sports career all began because his father wanted him to try out some sports when he was young.

He may be only 19 years old, but Anane has already established himself as one of the most impressive Muay Thai practitioners in the world, with 33 career wins and his name already in the history books as the youngest-ever WBC Muay Thai world champion.

Anane captured the 126-pound title in May 2022, but he was far from done, returning less than a year later to add the 135-pound championship to his wall of accomplishments.

Next, he’ll attempt to test his skills against the absolute best fighters in the world. This Friday night, Anane makes his ONE Championship debut as part of a stacked ONE Friday Fights 22 card inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Ahead of his highly anticipated debut, Anane spoke with the promotion and revealed that it was his father’s idea to take up martial arts as a hobby.

“My father just wanted me to try a lot of sports when I was young as a hobby. I had no idea I would eventually become a fighter and grow like this.”

Set to square off with Anane in a three-round Muay Thai clash is ONE’s reigning flyweight kickboxing world champion, Superlek Kiatmoo9. Appropriately nicknamed ‘The Kicking Machine,’ Superlek has quickly established himself as one of the most feared strikers in all of combat sports and will present a true test for the up-and-comer on martial arts’ biggest stage.

Fans in North America can catch all the action at ONE Friday Fights 22 live and for free on ONE Championship’s YouTube channel on June 23.