Last Friday, August 2, at ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Prime Video, 20-year-old phenom Nabil Anane once again lived up the massive hype surrounding him when earned a dominant decision win over former two-time ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title challenger Felipe “Demolition Man” Lobo.
That night, live in U.S. primetime at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Anane employed his towering height and massive reach advantage to brutalize the Brazilian with strikes both at long range and in the clinch.
As he becomes more and more known around the world, many fans have taken note of Anane’s trademark walkout attire that includes a unique straw hat. He says that hat is an ode to the long and lanky character Luffy from the popular Manga series “One Piece.”
Like Luffy, the Thai-Algerian striker boasts impossibly long arms – arms that he uses to pick his opponents apart at long range with thudding jabs and show-stopping straight right hands.
But according to Anane, the similarities between him and Luffy stop there. He added: “No, I don’t have [a] story like him. I just look like him. So yeah, I took his character, that’s all.” Anane has further risen in the stacked bantamweight Muay Thai ranks because of his unbelievable run as he is expected to join the likes of Nico Carrillo, Nong-O Hama, Saemapetch, and Liam Harrison in the top five soon.
However, the young striking phenom is not in a hurry to chase gold as he believes he still has a lot to learn before being the best in the world today. With youth and health on his side, expect Anane to be back in action soon against hungry contenders looking to make a statement in the division.
