“I was fighting some demons” - Nico Carrillo reveals internal turmoil prior to Sitthichai finish

Scottish slugger Nico Carrillo wasn't at the peak of his mental game heading into ONE Fight Night 30.

'King of the North' suffered his first promotional loss to Nabil Anane during their ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world title tilt in Bangkok's Impact Arena this past January. While the first-round annihilation was painful to bear, his battle on the scales in the lead-up to the fight was a different story altogether.

The Scotsman told various media outlets that he was struggling to meet the demands of the division due to his growing frame and increase in muscle mass prior to the fight. Immediately after slumping to a defeat to Anane, Nico Carrillo took to Instagram to announce his switch to featherweight.

While the physical constraints were there, those series of events took a massive toll on his mental game. Speaking to Bangkok Post's Nick Atkin last week, the 26-year-old conceded:

"I was fighting some demons after I lost to Nabil, and I just kept telling myself that the sun's gonna go rise up again. But in order to see the sun rise again, you need to get out of the shade, which is the demons, you know what I mean? You need to escape them."

Watch the full interview here:

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Nico Carrillo couldn't have asked for more in victorious start at featherweight

While the negative trail of losing to Anane came knocking at his door on multiple occasions, Nico Carrillo kept his radar stuck on the bigger picture — returning to winning ways at ONE Fight Night 30.

Despite coming in as a huge underdog against battle-tested veteran and eight-time world champion Sithichai Sitsongpeenong, the Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy standout stunned his foe by knockout at 2:20 of the second round in their featherweight Muay Thai tussle.

'King of the North's triumph inside the Mecca of Muay Thai maintained his 100 percent finish rate in the promotion. His cracking finish also earned him a US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 30 card via replay.