At just 18 years old, Yonis Anane is already one of the most exciting young Muay Thai fighters on the planet.

The youngest-ever WBC Muay Thai World Champion has recorded nearly 50 professional victories and quickly emerged as one of the faces of the sport’s new generation.

The Team Mehdi Zatout phenom will face Freddie Haggerty in a highly anticipated strawweight Muay Thai showdown at The Inner Circle on Friday, May 22. The blockbuster event airs live exclusively for members via live.onefc.com from Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium.

Outside the ring, however, Anane is still very much a part of Gen Z.

Fresh off finishing school and growing up fully immersed in the digital era, the younger brother of former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nabil Anane spends much of his downtime doing exactly what many teenagers around the world do — playing mobile games, scrolling through social media, and watching anime.

The French-Thai striker is also well known for his close friendship with fellow Team Mehdi Zatout athlete PTT Apichart Farm. According to Anane, gaming has become one of the absolute best ways for him to mentally reset from the nonstop grind of elite-level training.

He said:

“I play with PTT a lot, and it’s fun. I play every day before sleeping.

“Gaming helps me relax my mind. If you get angry, you make mistakes. Staying calm is better. It’s similar to Muay Thai.”

That mindset may sound simple, but for Anane, it directly translates to his approach inside the ring.

The teenage striker recently suffered the first setback of his ONE Championship career in a thrilling firefight against Zhao Zhengdong at ONE Friday Fights 147 this past March. Since then, the young star has spoken candidly about learning to stay calmer and avoiding the trap of fighting emotionally under immense pressure.

Oddly enough, he firmly believes gaming teaches similar, highly applicable lessons. When he is not training, sparring, or recovering from grueling sessions, Anane often jumps into Arena of Valor with his teammates.

Just like his fighting style, his in-game approach is anything but passive. He vastly prefers playing aggressive attacking roles rather than sitting back as a support character.

He added:

“I play attacker. I don’t like healer characters because they’re too weak.

“I like Raz because he’s like a Muay Thai boxer. I like his attacks.”

Gon Freecss And The Anime Character Yonis Anane Relates To Most

Beyond mobile gaming, anime has also become a massive pillar of Yonis Anane’s life away from the heavy bags.

While his older brother, Nabil, is widely known as a massive One Piece fan, Yonis prefers timeless classics like Hunter x Hunter and Bleach.

For the teenage striker, however, one specific character stands head and shoulders above the rest: Gon Freecss.

Created by legendary manga artist Yoshihiro Togashi, Hunter x Hunter follows Gon’s epic journey as a young boy searching for his missing father while growing stronger through unbreakable friendships, daunting challenges, and perilous battles against increasingly dangerous opponents.

The series has become one of the most universally beloved anime franchises in the world, particularly among Gen Z fans, thanks to its emotional storytelling, iconic characters, and deep themes of loyalty, perseverance, and self-improvement.

Anane sees many of those exact qualities in Gon himself.

The 18-year-old explained:

“Hunter x Hunter is my favorite because it was my first anime.

“I like Gon because he’s brave, he never gives up, and he’s kind. I think he’s like me. I like his motivation.”

Rather than relying on reckless aggression, Anane has painstakingly built his reputation through supreme composure, surgical timing, technical precision, and an in-ring maturity far beyond his years. Those elite qualities continue to make him one of the brightest teenage martial artists in Muay Thai today.

Anane also enjoys comparing the people around him to characters from Hunter x Hunter, noting that his older brother reminds him most of Leorio Paradinight.

Much like the outspoken and fiercely protective Leorio in the anime, Nabil has consistently acted as both a supportive older brother and a mentor figure throughout Yonis’ fighting journey — expertly guiding him through rigorous training, life in Thailand, and the immense pressures of competing on the global stage at such a young age.

Like many diehard anime fans online, Yonis is also patiently waiting for new Hunter x Hunter episodes to drop, despite the series’ notoriously long hiatuses.

He concluded:

“I finished watching all episodes already. I’m waiting for new episodes, but I don’t think they will come soon.”

Source

Former K-1 Champion Kana “Krusher Queen” Morimoto returns with her radar firmly locked on securing her first highlight-reel finish on the global stage of ONE Championship.

The 33-year-old Japanese striker meets Vero “The Kayan Leopard” in a high-stakes atomweight kickboxing matchup at The Inner Circle. Broadcasting live in Asia primetime, the blockbuster event takes place inside Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium this Friday, May 22, available exclusively to subscribers on live.onefc.com.

The matchup carries massive implications for both women.

A victory for either star could immediately position them as the leading contender to challenge ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom.

Kana told onefc.com:

“There’s both the challenge of the kickboxing rule set, and if she beats me, she gets a shot at Phetjeeja. Whether she wins or loses this fight will significantly change what comes next for her, so she’ll be coming in with very high motivation. I’m sure of it.”

With her World Title dreams well within reach, Kana has gone all out to ensure she gets her hand raised inside the ring.

The Team Aftermath striker is fully prepared for what the Myanmar standout brings to the table, though she admits Vero’s physical frame at atomweight provides a distinct advantage that could cause real problems.

She said:

“She has an amateur boxing background, so her boxing is sharp. And she has very long limbs, using that reach to make the most of her boxing technique is something I’m genuinely cautious about.”

Respect, however, only takes the Japanese star’s analysis so far. She is highly confident the kickboxing ruleset shifts the equation right back into her corner — and not by a small margin.

Where Vero’s boxing pedigree shines in a narrow technical window, the former four-time K-1 Champion believes her own arsenal spans the entire kickboxing canvas across every level, range, and weapon the ruleset allows. As such, Kana plans to drag Vero into deep waters before hunting for a late knockout to earn her 25th career victory.

She stated:

“The ruleset works in my favor – the volume of techniques available, the range of exchanges and tactical options. I think the gap in technical depth will show clearly.

“I want to put that on full display and win. And winning on points means nothing to me. I want to go for the finish. I plan to build the first and second rounds, then close it out in the third.”

The Rematch That Must Be Earned

A finishing performance against Vero unlocks the door to the only fight Kana Morimoto is truly chasing: a blockbuster rematch against Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom.

The Thai megastar overcame the Team Aftermath affiliate in their five-round World Title tiff at ONE 172 in Saitama, Japan, in March of last year, and she is the only person standing between Kana and the 26 pounds of gold she covets in the world’s largest martial arts organization.

“Krusher Queen” shared:

“Vero is a fighter who deserves a title shot if she beats me, so I think she would be that caliber of opponent. 

“But it depends on how I win. If I win convincingly, the Phetjeeja rematch comes into view for me. I want to win, then tell Phetjeeja I want that rematch – right there in the ring.”

The destination for that rematch is strictly non-negotiable in Kana’s mind. She wants the highly anticipated sequel to take place inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.

Before any title conversation can officially begin, however, the former K-1 Champion has one massive job in front of her at The Inner Circle on May 22. And the Japanese warrior is ready to deliver a grueling battle that fans will remember long after the final bell — the exact kind of high-octane fight where the engine note matches her beloved bright red American muscle car.

The 33-year-old concluded:

“To Vero, I want to tell her, ‘Let’s have an exciting striking exchange and put on a great show for the crowd.’ 

“And to the fans, I’m going to give them that kind of fight and make the arena electric. So, I really hope everyone watches and pays attention to this one.”

Source