Undisputed ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane of Algeria and Thailand was surprised by how easily he defeated Hiromi Wajima at ONE 173 last Nov. 16. The 21-year-old striker had his way with ‘The Purple Comet’ across three rounds, battering him with ballistic kicks and punches from long range. After outclassing the three-time K-1 Champion from bell to bell in his featherweight kickboxing debut, Anane admitted he expected a more difficult fight. The Team Mehdi Zatout prodigy told Nick Atkin in his post-event interview: “I thought he was going to be a little bit harder, you know. But it was good, he was good. He performed, he was performing good. He had a good performance. I wasn’t really happy about my performance. I don’t know why. I was a little bit stuck, you know.” Anane didn’t look lost in his first foray at 155 pounds and used every inch of his massive 6-foot-4 frame to give Wajima a miserable ONE debut. The Japanese star had a lot of hype behind him and was no slouch, but Anane’s brilliance was just too much even against a formidable foe. After beating Wajima, the bantamweight Muay Thai king made it clear that he’s here to stay in his quest for two-sport glory. Check out Anane’s full interview below: Nabil Anane says the featherweight division is in trouble Nabil Anane looked incredible in his featherweight debut, but he believes there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Despite the change in opponent on short notice, the Thai-Algerian surgically dissected Hiromi Wajima. According to the bantamweight Muay Thai king, he’ll display a more frightening form once he gets used to the weight class. “This was short notice, two weeks, and they said featherweight against K-1 champion. I have had only one last fight, which was my first fight in kickboxing. Now it’s my second fight. I don’t have experience in kickboxing, but I did a good job against a K-1 champion. I need more experience. If I have more experience than this, man, you guys are in trouble,” he told Nick Atkin.
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