“Waiting for the right time to strike” - Buakaw commends Nabil Anane’s patience in methodical dissection of Superlek

Nabil Anane's promotional debut at ONE Championship ended in disaster. Young and inexperienced, he was fed to the wolves in the form of Thai veteran Superlek Kiatmoo9.

Unsurprisingly, he was knocked out in just over two minutes in the first round.

Fast forward to ONE 172, not even two years later, and the story couldn't be more different.

Anane has since grown into his tall frame, built power into his lithe limbs, and learned how to maximize his reach and timing. This time, it was the Thai-Algerian striker who walked away with the win. And it wasn't luck - it was a perfectly-timed, well-executed performance.

According to Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek, that is.

Reviewing the Anane-Superlek bout on his YouTube channel, this is what Buakaw had to say:

"[Superlek] did good in attack, but he left himself too open. Nabil's just waiting for the right time to strike."

Watch the full video below:

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Buakaw believes Superlek got "lucky" to make it past first round vs. Nabil Anane: "He really took some clean hits"

The Nabil Anane vs Superlek bout fell to the judges' scorecards, but according to Buakaw, things could've ended whole lot sooner:

"That round one, he really took some clean hits," Buakaw said about Superlek in the fight breakdown on his YouTube channel. "That knee might have rattled him. And that high kick that followed, lucky it didn't land clean. Good thing the round ended, it could have been bad."

Superlek managed to survive the round, but it was clear as day that he was out of his depth. Anane had taken control of the bout from start to finish and earned a win that put him at the top of the division.