“It was a kick in the nuts” - Nico Carrillo admits feeling gutted after hearing Superlek pulled out due to injury 

Nico Carrillo was eager to prove he was the best by dethroning arguably the greatest striker pound-for-pound of this generation.

After a blistering 4-0 start in the home of martial arts, the Scottish menace secured a well-earned title shot against bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 170 this coming Friday.

'King of the North' worked harder than ever before behind closed doors, seeing he was about to partake in the biggest fight of his professional career thus far.

However, Carrillo was dumbfounded following news that the Thai megastar hurt his knee in training and is no longer fit to defend his crown.

In a report posted by Sports Illustrated, Nico Carrillo admitted initially feeling gutted since he poured countless blood, sweat, and tears just to make it to this possible career-defining moment:

“It was a kick in the nuts, I was devastated, to say the least. Obviously, I’d already been training for eight weeks really hard prior to [the injury], but the fact that I’d literally just landed in Thailand, flew my full team out, family were here, family members, and friends had all booked flights for this undisputed fight, it was a kick in the nuts."

Meanwhile, the show must go on, and the promotion found a replacement for Superlek in the form of no.5 ranked Nabil Anane.

The Thai-Algerian sensation will now lock horns with Carrillo in one of three world title bouts this coming at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Nico Carrillo believes he's still destined to face Superlek

Nico Carrillo's goal to become the best striker on the planet means he'll still have to run through Superlek at some point.

The match may not have materialized for now, but 'King of The North' believes he'll simply need to assert more patience.

The Scottish KO artist, after all, is hell-bent on claiming the interim strap against Anane and setting up a unification bout with 'The Kicking Machine'. Carrillo told ONE:

"It's inevitable that I'll become king. This is just another chapter to tell in my story. In order for me to become the undisputed champion, I had to take the hardest road to get there."

ONE 170 will air live in Asian Primetime via watch.onefc.com.