Yuki Yoza Faces Towering Puzzle On A Huge Night For Team Vasileus At ONE SAMURAI 4
Yuki Yoza stands 5-foot-7. Nabil Anane stands 6-foot-4, and that gap is exactly why fans have spent so long demanding to see them share the ring.
The former K-1 Champion finally meets the former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion in bantamweight kickboxing at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. The matchup carries clear World Title implications for the winner.
Yoza came up short against Jonathan “The General” Haggerty at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April, then rebounded with a three-round win over Ben “The Problem” Woolliss at The Inner Circle 22. The 28-year-old Tokyo native respects Anane’s skill, but one detail keeps standing out above everything else.
“My impression of Nabil is that he’s just incredibly tall for this division. I think he has the skills to be one of the top fighters in ONE Championship. But I just think that he’s really very tall,” Yoza said.
The two were once linked to an interim title fight, but Yoza passed, insisting he deserved the first crack at Haggerty. His blistering precision and devastating calf kicks now meet Anane’s overwhelming length and versatile striking in a contest that practically sold itself.
It is also a massive night for Team Vasileus as a whole. Stablemate Masaaki Noiri, a former ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion, faces Mohammad Siasarani in a semifinal of the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament, while longtime teammate Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa will be inducted into the ONE Hall of Fame.
Should Noiri advance, Marat Grigorian or “The Handsome White Dragon” Luo Chao will be waiting in the final, with a shot at reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon promised to the tournament winner. Yoza has already mapped out exactly how he expects the bracket to unfold.
“He will beat Marat Grigorian in the final and get revenge against Superbon. That would be very great and dramatic. As a fighter, I think Noiri goes all the way. As a fan, I want him to go all the way,” Yoza said.
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