“I set my name in history” - Nico Carrillo on the magnitude of dethroning pound-for-pound best striker Superlek 

Second-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Nico Carrillo will be facing arguably the best striker on the planet for his world title bout.

As daunting as the task may be, he wouldn't have it any other way.

As part of three massive world title bouts at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, 'King of the North' will challenge Superlek Kiatmoo9 for his bantamweight Muay Thai world title.

Superlek has certainly grown from a once-unheralded gem into an absolute global megastar.

The now two-weight and two-sport world champion is on a red-hot 11-fight winning streak, with massive victories over some of the best in the world like Takeru Segawa, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and most recently, Jonathan Haggerty.

In an appearance on the Leather’d Podcast, Nico Carrillo says beating the favored Superlek will not only net him 26 pounds of gold but also bolster his legacy.

"So, then, if I go and beat him and, you know, I set my name in history, do you know what I mean?"

Meanwhile, Carrillo has certainly earned his shot against the elite of the elite after going on a 4-0 rampage in the home of martial arts. The Scottish brutalizer recorded four vicious finishes, with his last two coming against Thai wrecking balls Nong-O Hama and Saemapetch Fairtex.

Watch the entirety of Nico Carrillo's interview here:

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Nico Carrillo says Superlek's 49-second KO of Jonathan Haggerty is not impressive

It took less than a minute for Superlek to dispatch Jonathan Haggerty at ONE 168: Denver, using a world-ending elbow to etch his name on the history books.

While that finishing sequence will go down as one of the best highlights in 'The Art of Eight Limbs', Nico Carrillo begs to differ.

After all, 'King of The North' believes Haggerty's predictable movement made it easy to land that countershot. The next bantamweight Muay Thai world title challenger said in the same interview:

"It was a very simple pattern. Superlek exploited, and if he didn't exploit it, and I fought Haggerty first, I was going to exploit it anyway."

Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch ONE 170 free live as it happens in US Primetime.