Superlek “refused” to go five rounds with Nabil Anane at ONE 172.
36 hours before ‘The Kicking Machine’ was set to unify his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship with Nabil Anane’s interim title, Superlek failed to meet hydration requirements for the highly anticipated clash. As a result, Superlek was stripped of his strap.
Many assumed the fight would move forward with only Anane being eligible to win the title at ONE 172, as was the case when Smilla Sundell lost her title on the scale last May. However, that was not the case. Instead, the five-round title tilt was downgraded to a three-round catchweight with little information provided as to why.
Immediately following the festivities inside Saitama Super Arena, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong offered some insight into the situation, revealing that Superlek straight-up refused to go five rounds with Anane. To save the fight, ONE officials agreed to knock it down to three rounds and remove any title implications.
“Superlek actually said he didn’t want to fight, so our team had to figure out a way,” Sityodtong revealed at the ONE 172 post-fight press conference. “They said if it’s a three-round fight, then he would accept the fight. This is from my team. I was not involved in this discussion. But Superlek was not going to fight, so Nabil had no opponent.
“For us at that moment, I think my team made the call. But the next fight that makes sense is a world title fight between Nabil and Superlek. A full five rounder” (h/t Nick Atkin of The Bangkok Post).
Nabil Anane was not happy about leaving Japan without an undisputed title despite defeating Superlek
Nabil Anane ended up winning the fight, defeating Superlek via unanimous decision and avenging the loss he suffered against the Thai superstar in his promotional debut.
Unfortunately, the victory didn’t earn Anane the undisputed title as advertised, which understandably upset the 6’4″ sensation.
“Winning against Superlek means a lot to me, because this was my dream and my first goal, and I have achieved it,” Anane said prior to Sityodtong’s comments. “I feel bad it wasn’t a match with a title, but what can I do?
“I don’t know. I made a lot of sacrifices for this fight. To face Superlek and win was one of my goals, but I thought I would have the belt here with me. But it’s OK, next time.
Anane also spoke about his rigorous training regimen for the fight, revealing that he was waking up at 5 p.m. every evening and training at midnight whilst fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“It was very difficult for me to adapt my schedule, very hard,” Anane added. “I feel like I could have done better, but I sacrificed a lot for this victory over Superlek. Everything went according to plan and thanks to [coach] Mehdi Zatout and my team, who came up with a plan and trained me hard for this fight.”
