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Things have not gone to plan for Nico Carrillo in recent weeks but he's rolling with the punches in order to keep himself focused on the task at hand.
The Scottish warrior has emerged as the top contender in the bantamweight Muay Thai division by putting on a four-fight winning streak with each victory coming by way of knockout.
As a result, he was set to challenge Superlek for the world championship at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 until the titleholder withdrew due to an injury.
Carrillo will now face off with one of the division's other in-form contenders when he takes on Nabil Anane for the ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world title at the Impact Arena.
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With the winner in Bangkok, Thailand, going on to face Superlek at the promotion's huge ONE 172 event at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on March 23, 'King of the North' is keeping his eye on the prize.
He recently revealed in an interview with Sports Illustrated how, aside from it being a different plan from what he originally had in mind in the lead-up to his wedding, Nico Carrillo is happy with how everything has played out:
"[Winning this fight] I mean, it sets up another fight - which, I was only gonna fight once before my wedding anyway, so now I'm getting two fights before my wedding. You see the positive in these things. And when I win this, I'm sure my attention qill quickly shift to the Tokyo and Superlek thing."
Nico Carrillo has the chance to carry his momentum forward
Beating Nabil Anane, especially if he's able to get another finish, would be huge for Nico Carrillo.
Not only will he claim the interim title, but it will continue his momentum right into the unification bout with Superlek which is sure to be a highly anticipated clash.
That being said, Nabil Anane is certainly no walkover and he has proven that with a highly impressive winning streak that has seen him really announce himself as a top contender since moving up to the bantamweight division.
ONE 170 will be available via watch.onefc.com.
