“It has to happen” – Nico Carrillo says ‘fairytale’ world title war vs Jonathan Haggerty must take place next year

After producing the biggest win of his career at ONE Friday Fights 46, Nico Carrillo only has bigger and better things to look forward to in 2024.

The rising bantamweight Muay Thai contender announced himself as a title challenger at the final event of the year where he stopped living legend and former world champion Nong-O Hama. With an impressive three-fight win streak with some incredible finishes to back it up, the Scot has established himself as a legitimate threat.

Only one man now stands between him and accomplishing the goal he set out to achieve in ONE Championship.

A Scotland versus England title showdown with divisional king Jonathan Haggerty will be absolutely huge and Nico Carrillo isn’t considering any other possibilities. He told the South China Morning Post that he dreams of competing against ‘The General’ in the first half of 2024:

“It’s a fairytale. It has to happen. It cannot not happen. Probably April or the start of April would be good for me.”

Watch the full interview below:

ONE Championship fans who missed or want to relive any of the action from ONE Friday Fights 46 can watch the event back via the on-demand replay at watch.onefc.com.

Nico Carrillo poses a real threat to the reign of Jonathan Haggerty

If there’s a striker on the roster who can claim to have had a better year than Nico Carrillo, it’s the ONE two-sport world champion Jonathan Haggerty.

‘The General’ has beaten two world champions in back-to-back fights, with consecutive finishes over Nong-O and Fabricio Andrade to win the Muay Thai and vacant kickboxing titles in the bantamweight division.

With the size and power that ‘King of the North’ brings to the table in the division, he will pose a very physical threat to the former flyweight champion. The match-up is sure to be one of the most anticipated champion versus challenger bouts of next year.