“I will be better than this” - Nabil Anane vows to step into a higher gear in world title unification against Superlek

Nabil Anane doesn't plan on taking much time off before preparing for his inevitable fight against Superlek.

At ONE 170, Nico Carrillo was supposed to face Superlek for the undisputed bantamweight Muay Thai world championship. Superlek pulled out due to an injury, leading to Anane going from a non-title bout against Kiamran Nabati to an interim title bout against Carrillo.

Anane capitalized on the massive opportunity and shockingly knocked out Carrillo in the first round. As a result, the Algerian-Thai striker will face Superlek in a unification world title fight later this year.

Shortly after getting his hand raised, Anane did a post-fight interview in the ring with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson. The 6'4" bantamweight had this to say about his upcoming rematch with two-sport world champion Superlek:

"I will be prepared for that. I will only need a few days of rest and I will go back to the gym and work hard and I will be better than this."

Four $50,000 performance bonuses were handed out at ONE 170 to Nabil Anane, featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai, bantamweight MMA world champion Fabricio Andrade, and Sinsamut Klinmee.

Tawanchai (main event against Superbon) and Andrade (co-main event against Kwon Won Il) defended their world titles. Meanwhile, Sinsamut secured a first-round knockout in his lightweight Muay Thai bout against Nauzet Trujillo.

The entire replay of ONE 170, including the three previously mentioned world title fights, can be seen for free by North American and Canadian viewers via watch.one.fc.com.

Watch Anane's knockout against Carrillo at ONE 170 below:

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Superlek vs. Nabil Anane projected for ONE 172

On Sunday, March 23, ONE Championship will travel to Saitama, Japan for a highly-anticipated event inside the Saitama Super Arena.

In the main event, Rodtang and Tawanchai are scheduled to clash in a long-awaited non-title flyweight kickboxing bout. As for the co-main event, Adriano Moraes and Yuya Wakamatsu will battle for the vacant flyweight MMA strap.

Although it's unconfirmed by ONE, the bantamweight Muay Thai unification world title matchup between Superlek and Nabil Anane is targeted for ONE 172.

Anane fought Superlek in his ONE Championship debut, with the latter winning the flyweight bout by first-round knockout. Anane has since won six consecutive fights.

Superlek, who also holds flyweight kickboxing gold, enters his first bantamweight Muay Thai title defense with promotional records of 11-0 in Muay Thai and 4-1 in kickboxing (lone loss against Ilias Ennahachi).