Nabil Anane Leaves Next Step to His Team After Beating Yuki Yoza

Nabil Anane beat Yuki Yoza by unanimous decision in a bantamweight kickboxing bout at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. It was the 42nd professional win for the 22-year-old former Muay Thai titleholder, and it ended a run of two straight defeats.

Less than six months earlier, at ONE SAMURAI 1, Yoza went five rounds with ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty.

Anane, who represents Venum Training Camp and Team Mehdi Zatout, worked from range in the opening round and landed knees to the body. In the second and third, the Team Vasileus fighter came back with calf kicks, and some watching read those later exchanges as a turn in momentum.

Anane disagreed. "The third round, I know I won. I was just being careful. I didn't want to get knocked down or something. Nothing was wrong with the third round or the first or second," he said.

He added that the fight felt familiar: "The fight was the same as I was doing sparring in training. I am used to training with many people. They come at me, they try to do calf kicks. Everything worked well."

He described the victory as a welcome return to kickboxing, a discipline that still comes second to Muay Thai for him, and said he has a lot of room left to improve.

Haggerty kept his title later on the same card by stopping Hiroki Akimoto. A win over one of the champion's recent opponents may have put Anane in contention. Outside the ring, he also hopes to box for Thailand at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

He is not choosing between those directions himself. "It depends on the team, my team and our team. Whatever comes, I'll take it. I'll never deny anything. I always accept everything. So, I guess time [will tell]," Anane said.

Source: BJPENN.com