Reigning ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nabil Anane is ready to conquer a new striking discipline when he makes his kickboxing debut against former ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Ilias Ennahachi on Friday, September 26, in Bangkok, Thailand, at ONE Friday Fights 126.
The 21-year-old Algerian-Thai sensation from Team Mehdi Zatout has enjoyed a meteoric rise since his ONE debut at just 19 years old. Despite suffering a knockout loss to Superlek Kiatmoo9 in his first outing, Anane has become virtually unstoppable.
The young champion won five straight fights to earn an interim title match against Nico Carrillo, shocking the world by defeating him in the first round to claim gold. In June, Anane was elevated to undisputed ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion.
Anane also completed his redemption arc in March 2025 at ONE 172, taking revenge against Superlek by beating him via unanimous decision. Now he faces a different challenge in the kickboxing realm against the dangerous Moroccan-Dutch veteran.
“When they offered me my first kickboxing fight against former Flyweight Champion Ilias Ennahachi, I knew he was a great fighter. He’s also beaten Superlek before. He’s very skilled. This won’t be an easy fight for sure,” Anane said.
“A weakness I see in Ilias Ennahachi is that he starts strong but fades in the later rounds. He doesn’t have the same power at the end as he does in the beginning.”
The 29-year-old Ennahachi brings impressive credentials with a perfect 5-0 ONE record and former flyweight kickboxing gold. His victory over Superlek adds another layer of intrigue to this bantamweight kickboxing clash.
With Jonathan Haggerty currently ruling the bantamweight kickboxing division, Anane sees this bout as his pathway to two-sport dominance and establishing himself as one of the pound-for-pound great strikers in combat sports.
“I want the kickboxing belt because it’s a striking martial art, and I want to be number one in striking. I want to show what I can do,” Anane said.
“If I beat Ilias, it’ll bring me even closer to my dream, and the doors to a title shot will open up. I’ve been adapting for sure. I change my style for every single fight. This kickboxing fight will be no different.”
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