“We all bleed red” - Denis Puric believes Nabil Anane has a puncher’s chance to pull off upset win vs Superlek

Veteran striker Denis Puric is giving Nabil Anane a realistic chance at beating ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in their scheduled unification bout later this month in Japan.

Interim titleholder Anane will try to become the undisputed champion in the division with a win over 'The Kicking Machine' in their showdown at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the 'Bosnian Menace' shared his thoughts on the chances of the Algerian-Thai phenom against double world champion Superlek. He said:

"You can't count him out. I did before, but I'm like ‘f***, I can't count this guy out’ because he's so unpredictable. Now, you gotta believe in him. And he's got to believe in himself. And I think, everybody, we all bleed red, man. Anybody can be beat."

Superlek will be defending the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai gold for the first time after seizing it from former divisional king Jonathan Haggerty by way of a 49-second knockout win in his last fight back in September in the United States.

Nabil Anane, meanwhile, is coming off his impressive opening-round TKO win over Nico Carrillo in January to become the interim bantamweight world champion.

The showdown at ONE 172 is also a rematch of the two fighters' first encounter in June 2023, where the Thai superstar knocked out the Team Mehdi Zatout standout in the first round of his promotional debut.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will be available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

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Nabil Anane out to redeem himself against Superlek at ONE 172

Apart from becoming the undisputed ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion with a win at ONE 172 in Japan, Nabil Anane is also gunning for a victory over Superlek Kiatmoo9 to redeem himself from the KO loss he absorbed from the Thai superstar in their first encounter in June 2023.

The 6-foot-4 fighter made this known during the press conference for the event, which marks the return of ONE Championship in the "Land of the Rising Sun" for the second straight year, saying:

"Konnichiwa everyone. I'm happy to have the chance to redeem myself with Superlek after losing to him."

Nabil Anane was knocked out by Superlek in their first encounter, which was a flyweight Muay Thai match. He has since moved on well from it, winning his next six matches, including his TKO finish of Nico Carrillo of Scotland in January to become the interim ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion.