ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nabil Anane reflects on his remarkable 2025, revealing how he achieved his championship dreams and outlined his plans for the future after completing an unbeaten year across multiple striking disciplines.
The 21-year-old Algerian-Thai sensation's coronation began at ONE 170 in January when he demolished Scottish knockout artist Nico Carrillo via first-round TKO to capture the interim bantamweight Muay Thai title. The towering striker made an immediate statement against one of the division's most feared punchers.
Two months later, Anane delivered the performance of his young career by defeating pound-for-pound great Superlek via unanimous decision, avenging his promotional debut loss. The champion then
tested himself in kickboxing against former featherweight king Ilias Ennahachi.
Despite leading on the scorecards, an accidental low blow forced the bout into a no contest. Undeterred, Anane moved up to featherweight in November to face Japanese kickboxing star and former three-time K-1 Champion Hiromi Wajima. The young champion secured a dominant unanimous decision victory.
Looking back on his breakthrough year, Anane struggled to identify a single defining moment from his spectacular campaign. However, the Superlek victory holds special significance as redemption for his career's only defeat.
"It's very hard to pick what the best moment was, but I will pick the fight against Superlek. I lost against him in my ONE debut, and then I didn't know if I would have a chance to fight against him again," Anane said.
Despite his recent kickboxing success, the 21-year-old champion revealed his desire to return to Muay Thai competition. Anane misses competing under the ruleset where he feels most comfortable and has the deepest experience.
"Personally, I want to come back and fight in Muay Thai because it's been quite long since I fought in Muay Thai. I've been preparing myself for kickboxing, and I just want to come back and fight in Muay Thai because I miss Muay Thai," Anane said.
The champion's preference for Muay Thai stems from years of experience and natural comfort under those rules. While Anane has proven his kickboxing abilities, he considers traditional Muay Thai his true domain and where he performs at his absolute best.
"It's just the feeling. I have more experience in Muay Thai and it's more my domain. Muay Thai is my thing. I'm not really sure, but I don't really care. If I need to fight again in kickboxing, then I'll just fight again," Anane stated.
