"It was more than a win" - Nico Carrillo recalls triumphant first fight in ONE Championship

Second-ranked ONE bantamweight Muay Thai competitor Nico Carrillo fondly reminisced about his ONE Championship debut against Furkan Karabag at ONE Friday Fights 13 in April 2023.

Carrillo talked about its personal significance during an interview with the Leather'd Podcast:

"The first fight in ONE, I was always happy with just a win. I was just happy with the win, like I really just wanted to get my wee toes in the f***ing water. I thought I'm just winning, but then it was more than a win. And then I was like what? I've just knocked out the guy at the bigger weight. So I'm pretty sure that I'm going to keep doing it at my natural weight."

Watch the entire interview here:

Carrillo's breakthrough against Karabag came late in the third round as he battered the Turkish standout against the ropes. It forced referee Olivier Coste to call off the bout with half a minute remaining.

Three highlight-reel finishes later, Carrillo will challenge ONE double-champ Superlek Kiatmoo9 for 26 pounds of ONE bantamweight Muay Thai gold at ONE 170 on Jan. 24, 2025, inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

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Nico Carrillo outlines his strategy against Superlek

Nico Carrillo has already devised a game plan to leave ONE 170 with his first-ever ONE world championship.

In the same interview with the Leather'd Podcast, Carrillo said:

"Let's say I go, and I'm going to fight Superlek, I'm not going to rush in the first round. It will be quite a cage first round I suspect, unless I do catch him, and then again, what I say is confidence comes from I know that no one I've ever [fought can continue after they're hurt]. So it's the same thing. But yeah, I'm not going to start fast with Superlek."