“Never say never” - Scottish striker Nico Carrillo believes he can mimic Alex Pereira’s success in possible MMA transition 

Second-ranked ONE bantamweight Muay Thai contender Nico Carrillo believes his incredible striking repertoire should translate well into mixed martial arts. While 'King of The North' says fans shouldn't expect him to dip his toes in MMA anytime soon, he is confident that he'll thrive if ever he decides to do so.

For one, Carrillo cited UFC light heavyweight champion Alex 'Poatan' Pereira, who had a decorated kickboxing career before becoming a superstar in MMA. The Scottish KO artist shared in an appearance on the Leather’d Podcast:

"I see people like Poatan [Alex Pereira], and all that other people who like when they get to like 32-33 [years old] is when they start becoming champions. I'm 26, say for the next four years I go on a tear in ONE Championship, and I keep the belt and I even go up to [featherweight] and I get that belt, double champ status. I should be 29-30 by then."

Moreover, Nico Carrillo argued that he has plenty of time for an MMA crossover, once he completes his goal of becoming the best pure striker on the planet. He added:

"I could switch over to MMA and still have actually a really lengthy career there. I know there would be so much learning to do but that's why my answer is never say never."

Watch Nico Carrillo's interview in its entirety:

Nico Carrillo must win the biggest fight of his career before MMA talk

As intriguing as it is to see how Nico Carrillo will fare in MMA, he still has to handle business in the stacked 135-pound Muay Thai ranks.

After blitzing through the opposition with a 4-0 carnage, the Scottish slugger will finally get a well-deserved crack at 26 pounds of gold.

However, Carrillo must go through arguably the greatest pound-for-pound striker of this era, bantamweight Muay Thai kingpin Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 170 on January 24 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

'King of the North' said in the same interview:

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

ONE 170 will air live in US Primetime free for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.