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Nabil Anane did the unimaginable at ONE 172 inside the Saitama Super Arena. Per the Thai-Algerian, however, there were plenty of sacrifices involved throughout his fight camp.
The 20-year-old completed his mission to pull one back against Superlek Kiatmoo9 in Japan on Sunday, March 23, with a dominant three-round showing in their Muay Thai tussle.
More impressively, the Team Mehdi Zatout star became the first fighter to drop 'The Kicking Machine' onto the canvas, but as he puts it, it was a result of his hard work and not something that was merely a fluke:
"My whole preparation, [it was a] very, very, very tough preparation and a lot of sacrifices, and tonight, I made it. I'm proud of myself. Thank you to my team, and thank you, everyone," he shared at the ONE 172 post-event press conference.
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It has been some fairytale run for the young striking specialist, who extended his winning streak to seven in a row with a unanimous decision in Japan - one that started after Superlek schooled him in his promotional bow at ONE Friday Fights 22 in June 2023.
As for the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion, he heads back to the drawing board following his first promotional loss since February 2021.
Watch the post-fight presser below:
Nabil Anane credits Mehdi Zatout for his guidance in sublime win over Superlek
Shortly after earning the biggest win of his budding resume, Nabil Anane gave his flowers to the man who's played a pivotal role in turning him into the machine he is today - Algerian veteran and former ISKA and WBC world champion Mehdi Zatout.
Nabil Anane wrote on his Instagram:
"Thank you so much, my brother. I don’t know what to say ❤️ I love you, big brother. And thanks to those who are always behind me, I really love all of you guys. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you to my whole team, my coaches. I love you all.❤️❤️❤️ and I can’t forget all of my sponsors that helped me in this fight glad to work with all of you guys. Thank you so much. Thank GOD ❤️"
ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang is available via replay at watch.onefc.com.
