Former ONE Muay Thai world lightweight champion Nabil Anane of Algeria and Thailand is already plotting his next move, and it could take him to Tokyo.
The 22-year-old has been one of the most active and versatile strikers on ONE’s roster over the past two years, competing in both Muay Thai and kickboxing.
His run in 2025 was outstanding. He knocked out Nico Carrillo, avenged his loss to Superlek, and earned undisputed world title status without losing in any discipline.
But 2026 brought a setback when Rambolek Chor Ajalabun outplayed him over five rounds and took lightweight muay thai belt.
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Instead of backing down, Anane is eager to get right back to work. He spoke about his ambitions in kickboxing, where reaching the rankings could open the way to second world title in another sport.
Speaking to Muay Thai From Around The World, he opened up about a potential appearance on ONE SAMURAI 2, the August 8 card in Tokyo.
“Around that time (in August). If they offer it to me, I’ll probably take it… If it’s a kickboxing fight that helps me get up the rankings, that would be great. So if I had to guess, it might be the ONE samurai competition in Japan in August? If the opportunity arises, I would love to. I also want to fight in Japan.”
Nabil Anane recalls what went wrong when he lost his title
Nabil Anane fully admits his shortcomings in his latest outing.
The Thai-Algerian star admits he had an off night did not fight as usual.
The former Thai bantamweight champion said in the same interview:
“That day? I didn’t fight according to the game plan. I fought without listening to anyone, I just listened to my heart and followed my gut. I didn’t even think about how to fight strategically to win. I fought just to have fun more than anything else. I didn’t pay attention to anything else, and that’s where I went wrong.”
Stay with us ONE Championship and Sportskeeda for the latest on ONE SAMURAI 2.
Edited by Syed Adim Karim