Ilias Ennahachi says he brings a more dangerous package at bantamweight: “I feel much stronger”

Days away from his highly anticipated move to bantamweight, former ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Ilias Ennahachi is feeling as powerful as ever.

Boasting an undefeated record inside the Circle — including an impressive showing against current two-sport king Superlek Kiatmoo9 in 2021 — Ennahachi is ready for a change of scenery.

At ONE Friday Fights 81 on Sept. 27, the Dutch-Moroccan sensation will square off with another former ONE world champion, Hiroki Akimoto, as part of a loaded lineup inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Having made a name for himself at flyweight, Ilias Ennahachi is excited to show off his power as he makes his debut one weight class up. Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Ennahachi said:

"So that is what I want, I want to focus on my fight, and in flyweight, I focus only on my weight. In a better weight class, I feel much stronger, also stronger mentally, and that’s very very important."

Check out Ilias Ennahachi's comments below:

---

Ilias Ennahachi agrees with controversial scorecard against Hiroki Akimoto in May

While Ilias Ennahachi will be looking to land his fifth-straight win on martial arts' biggest stage, Hiroki Akimoto is hoping to wash the taste of a controversial decision out of his mouth.

Making his return to the Circle, Akimoto squared off with Wei Rui at ONE Fight Night 22 on Prime Video. After three rounds of action, Akimoto won the bout in the eyes of many.

However, the three judges didn't see it that way. Instead, they unanimously scored the bout in favor of Wei Rui — a decision that caused quite an uproar online.

Offering his take on the scorecards, Ennahachi is inclined to believe that the judges called it correctly.

"I watched the fight. I thought Akimoto was coming back in the last round and the Chinese boy was very smart, he made his points - he didn't fight, he made his points in the first and second rounds and it was very smart. I think it was too late for Akimoto to come back because it's not five rounds of three minutes. So it's not lucky, the judges saw it very good."

Who comes out on two when two of the best kickboxers in the world go toe-to-toe in The Land of Smiles?

ONE Friday Fights 81 will air live and exclusively on pay-per-view on Friday, Sept. 27 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. You can purchase the event exclusively on the official ONE Championship website.