“I don’t think he should have been fighting” - Liam Harrison hints Superlek was not at his best against Nabil Anane at ONE 172

Liam Harrison believes Superlek should not have accepted his fight against Nabil Anane.

Earlier this month, the ONE 172 fight week featured a shocking announcement due to Superlek failing his hydration test and missing weight. As a result, the Thai superstar was stripped of his bantamweight Muay Thai world title.

Superlek's bout against interim titleholder Nabil Anane proceeded as a catchweight. The disappointment was furthered on fight night, as Superlek showcased an uncharacteristically lackluster performance.

Following the event, Liam Harrison did an interview with Nick Atkin and reacted to Superlek's unanimous decision loss. 'Hitman' said:

"I have spoken to a few people in the Superlek camp, I don’t think he should have taken that fight. I’m not going to go into the reasons why, but I’ve spoken to a few people, it’s not my place to say anything. But I don’t think he should have been fighting. It proved that in his performance."

Superlek's loss at ONE 172 was his first promotional Muay Thai defeat. 'The Kicking Machine' previously held an 11-0 record in the sport.

Meanwhile, Nabil Anane secured a legacy-defining win at ONE 172. The interim bantamweight Muay Thai titleholder extended his promotional record to 7-1, with his lone loss being in his ONE debut against Superlek.

Watch Harrison's entire interview with Nick Atkin below:

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What's next for Superlek in ONE Championship?

Superlek remains the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion. The Thai superstar's last title defense was a unanimous decision win against Takeru Segawa in January 2024.

'The Kicking Machine' likely has two primary options for his next fight.

Firstly, ONE Championship could book the trilogy bout between him and Nabil Anane to crown the undisputed bantamweight Muay Thai world champion.

Another potential option for Superlek would be a flyweight kickboxing title defense against Rodtang. They previously fought in Muay Thai, with Superlek winning the highly anticipated clash by unanimous decision.

In the ONE 172 main event, Rodtang shockingly secured a first-round knockout win against Takeru Segawa in kickboxing, making him the number one contender in the flyweight division.