Superlek Kiatmoo9 was already in a battle before he stepped between the ropes for his Saitama super fight against Nabil Anane.
In an interview with Yokkao, Superlek admitted that he was in the doldrums after he was stripped of the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title ahead of ONE 172 in March at Saitama Super Arena.
During the card’s official weigh-ins, Superlek stepped in at 146.25 pounds, missing the division’s limit of 145 pounds, and was subsequently stripped of his world title.
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“Losing the belt on the scale had a big impact on my mindset going into the fight. So I stepped into the ring in a really bad mental state on top of the physical stress,” he said.
Superlek, who still holds the ONE flyweight kickboxing world title, was visibly out of sorts during his rematch against Anane, with many observers speculating that he wasn’t at his best during the contest.
British legend Liam Harrison was one of those who immediately noticed Superlek’s condition and suggested that ‘The Kicking Machine’ should hire a nutritionist for future camps.
Superlek has already beaten Anane in ONE Championship when he knocked out the 6-foot-4 phenom in June 2023 via first-round knockout in their flyweight Muay Thai matchup.
That aggression, however, was missing when Superlek and Anane ran it back in ONE Championship’s return to Japan.
Anane was an unstoppable force during the rematch and scored a huge knockdown in the first round when he tagged Superlek in the first round.
Superlek never found his rhythm during the matchup, and Anane eventually secured the dominant unanimous decision win.
Superlek says he operated at 50% in his loss to Nabil Anane in Japan
Superlek Kiatmoo9 knew he wasn’t at his best when he lost to Nabil Anane in one of the year’s biggest events.
In the same interview with Yokkao, Superlek admitted that he struggled with himself during his matchup against the 6-foot-4 phenom at ONE 172.
“I went into this fight not at my full potential. Unfortunately, I wasn’t 100 percent either physically or mentally. If I had to give a number, I’d say I stepped into the ring at about 50 percent,” he said.
Watch Superlek’s entire interview below:
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Edited by Harvey Leonard
