"Nabil" clears up drama, insists national team sparring was just practice, vows real fight in January.
Nabil Anan, a prominent Muay Thai fighter from ONE Championship, responded to the controversy after sparring with Ban Jong Sinsiri, a Thai national amateur boxer. He confirmed that the session was purely practice, not an official competition, and hinted at a serious challenge in January.
Previously, Nabil sparred with Ban Jong in the 65-kilogram category during a training event for the Thai national amateur boxing team. Fans criticized, saying Ban Jong appeared superior, although the sparring had no official win-loss decision.
Recently, Nabil posted a statement: "I want to practice what’s in front of me first. I sparred casually; the serious fight will come soon. You all have an upcoming match, which means you’re 100% ready—no excuses. I’ve been training Muay Thai; on the 18th, I have a world championship. Before sparring, I trained hard in the morning and did heavy weight training, drove myself from Pattaya, and sparred just for practice because I have a December event. This wasn’t competition, but you got confident. See you in January... What’s in front of me now is the featherweight Muay Thai world championship belt, not you!!!"
Nabil is scheduled to contest the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship at 70 kilograms against longtime rival Nico Carrillo at The Inner Circle 43 event on 18 December 2026 at Lumpinee Stadium. His main goal is to win the world title belt.
