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The upset loss that Nico Carrillo absorbed in his last fight still continues to be at the back of his mind. However, he said that he has begun picking up the pieces, with the very same defeat as motivation to be better.
'The King of the North' was a heavy favorite to claim the interim bantamweight Muay Thai world title back in January at ONE 170 against rising Algerian-Thai fighter Nabil Anane.
But he was steamrolled over by Anane, who showed impeccable striking in knocking down Carrillo three times in the opening round for the TKO victory.
In an interview with ONE Championship, the Glasgow, Scotland native spoke about how he felt after the tough loss to Anane and how is dealing with it moving forward.
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Nico Carrillo said:
“The one thing I wanted to do in life at that point was turn the clocks back and I knew I couldn’t. It broke my heart. I’ve never been as heartbroken as I was that night. I’d have taken a family member dying much easier than I took that defeat, but it’s now a reminder of what can happen in this game.”
The loss to Anane was the first for Nico Carrillo in ONE Championship after winning his first four matches, all by knockout, in the promotion. It was also his first loss since April 2019 in an event outside of ONE.
Making the loss even tougher was he fell short in his long-sought goal of becoming the bantamweight Muay Thai world champion.
Nico Carrillo makes featherweight debut at ONE Fight Night 30
As part of his push to move on from his previous defeat, Nico Carrillo decided to move up to featherweight and is set to make his debut in the division this week.
The Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy representative is featured in a featherweight Muay Thai battle against veteran Thai fighter Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles on April 4 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
In moving to featherweight, Carrillo said it was time for him to do so at this point of his career as the 155-pound class suits him better and he can concentrate on preparing more for matches than making weight.
Out to give him a rude welcome at featherweight is Sitsongpeenong, who is gunning to get a bounce-back win at ONE Fight Night 30 after losing by decision to fellow Thai Shadow Singha Mawynn back in December.
ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles is free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
