"Life has been great" - World title prospect Nico Carrillo reveals how he grew outside his career over the year

2024 has been another big year for arguably Scotland's finest martial arts product, Nico Carrillo

The No. 2-ranked ONE bantamweight Muay Thai superstar produced a breakout year in 2023 which set him up for big things after he produced three consecutive wins and finishes.

In December of last year, he stopped former kingpin Nong-O Hama to really announce himself as a top contender in the bantamweight Muay Thai division.

He further solidified this status in 2024 where he stopped Saemapetch Fairtex at ONE Fight Night 23 in July.

Whilst Carrillo has not been fighting as much, that doesn't mean that he has a quiet year from start to finish.

The world title prospect has been enjoying life by continuing to work on his craft, build his brand and spend time with his loved ones which he often has to sacrifice in order to train and compete.

He spoke in a recent interview with ONE Championship about his main takeaways from 2024 as the year comes to a close:

"Outside of the ring, just life. Life has been great this year. I've been meeting new people, holding seminars, spending time with my fiancee, taking trips away, [and going on] holidays. It's just been a good year."

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Nico Carrillo faces the biggest year of his career to date

For Nico Carrillo, 2024 was more about maintaining the momentum that he carried into the year than anything else.

Doing that successfully means that 2025 will be the biggest year of his career to date as he is set to return at ONE 170 on Jan. 24.

Though his world championship clash with ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 may have fallen through due to an injury to the titleholder, Nico Carrillo will still get the opportunity to join the elite.

He will now face No.5-ranked Nabil Anane for the interim world title with the victor earning a one-way ticket to a title unification clash with Superlek once he is healthy.