Yuki Yoza would rather wait for Jonathan Haggerty than fight Nabil Anane: “Doesn't really make much sense to me”

Former K-1 Champion Yuki Yoza of Japan dismissed the idea of a potential world title eliminator showdown with ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane.

As far as the 27-year-old striker is concerned, he has already cemented his status as the next contender for ONE bantamweight kickboxing king Jonathan Haggerty.

Yoza registered the biggest win of his career when he dismantled Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri last Nov. 16 at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

On the same card, Anane made his featherweight debut and defeated Hiromi 'The Purple Comet' Wajima. Shortly after, the towering Thai-Algerian also called out Haggerty.

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During the ONE 173 post-fight press conference, Yoza addressed the possibility of facing Anane next, possibly for the interim gold while ‘The General’ recovers from injury.

The Team Vasileus standout made it clear he would rather hold out for the British striker.

As far as Yoza is concerned, his 3-0 start in ONE, capped off by his victory over the pound-for-pound great Superrlek, gives him a direct path to the undisputed champion.

"So in my last fight, I beat a former champion, and in this fight, I beat Superlek. And to fight for an interim title against the unranked Nabil doesn't really make much sense to me, I would like to take the title from Haggerty and then for my first defense fight against Nabil."

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Yuki Yoza shares bulletproof mindset he used to beat Superlek

Yuki Yoza saved his best performance yet for one of the pound-for-pound best strikers on the planet.

The Team Vasileus ward unleashed a venomous striking repertoire to outgun 'The Kicking Machine' Superlek.

In his post-event interview, Yoza revealed it came down to preparing himself both physically and mentally:

"So up until I stepped into this Circle, I kept the mindset that I was the weakest fighter on this planet, but as soon as I stepped in, I switched it up to saying that I'm the best. And going against Superlek, such an amazing opponent, I believed in myself, my team, and everyone who came to support me. Thank you, everybody."

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Edited by Aziel Karthak