Nabil Anane reveals his favorite Muay Thai fighters growing up

Teenage Muay Thai prodigy Nabil Anane is bound for the most high-profile bout of his young career at ONE Friday Fights 22 on June 23.

In front of a euphoric crowd inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, the French-Algerian-Thai sensation will go up against ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in a 3-round Muay Thai fight.With

With already over 35 pro fights at 19 years of age, Nabil is definitely not your average teen. He is a student of the game who started way early in his life in the Art of Eight Limbs and has already been active for more than 10 years. Taking up the sport at a young age, it's palpable that the Karate and Taekwondo blackbelt has had a few idols along the way.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the Pattaya native spoke about his heroes in the sport growing up:

"I had a lot of Muay Thai heroes growing up. There’s a lot of them. I didn’t really like just one fighter. I liked all of them, all the good fighters, everyone."

We would not be surprised if Nabil Anane considered legends like Saenchai, Buakaw, and ONE Championship megastars like Nong-O Hama and Rodtang Jitmuangnon as some of his heroes growing up. Perhaps the fighter widely considered to be the GOAT, Samart Payakaroon, is the perfect one to inspire someone like Nabil. Samart has a similar tall and lanky build as the 19-year-old, and could be a perfect blueprint to be emulated inside the ring.

Nabil Anane has named one fighter in particular, however, as someone who inspired and pushed him to be great throughout his career: retired French kickboxing icon Mehdi Zatout.

Nabil Anane told ONE:

"Mehdi Zatout has been with me since I was a very, very young boy. He was always that one guy who pushed me. He brought me here, and he’s always been beside me throughout my career."

Mehdi Zatout is a 20-year veteran of the sport, finishing his career with a staggering 120 pro fights. He is a former ISKA, WMC, and WBC world champion and has competed in ONE Championship as well. His last fight was a performance bonus-winning victory over Asa Ten Pow at ONE on Prime Video 3 late last year.

Zatout has been training and cornering world-class fighters: former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Alaverdi Ramazanov and the young Nabil Anane, in line for his promotional debut at ONE Friday Fights 22.

ONE Friday Fights 22 is available live and for free on ONE Championship’s digital platforms as well as on its official broadcast partners.