Nico Carrillo believes KO finish of Sitthichai at ONE Fight Night 30 places him in the world title mix: “Probably puts me there”

There were plenty of question marks on how Nico Carrillo would fare leading up to his featherweight debut at ONE Fight Night 30. But he put all concerns to bed with another majestic display inside the Lumpinee Stadium last Friday, April 4.

'King of the North' enjoyed a smashing night out inside the Thai capital by knocking out eight-time world champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong in the second round of their featherweight Muay Thai tussle.

Carrillo set the tone early with a perfectly placed elbow that opened up Sitthichai's forehead. Credit where it's due, the Sitsongpeenong Muay Thai Camp academy never once backed down despite Carrillo lighting him up with ill-intentioned shots.

But his best was nowhere near what the Scottish knockout machine brought to the table. Eventually, Carrillo wrapped things up with a crushing left hook that sent the Thai down and out at the 2:20 mark.

When asked where this win should earn him an immediate shot at ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai, the 26-year-old had this to say at the ONE Fight Night 30 post-event press conference:

"Possibly, I think beating Sitthichai with the style that I did probably puts me there [in world title contention], yeah."

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Nico Carrillo couldn't have asked for a better way to return to the winner's column

It was a rewarding moment for the Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy standout who surrendered his unbeaten promotional run by first-round TKO in his ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world title joust against Nabil Anane at ONE 170.

He endured a tough time making the bantamweight limit and wasn't himself in his fight against the young Thai-Algerian warrior, which prompted him to move to the featherweight division, a bracket closer to his walking weight.

With him (28-4) off to a winning note against the No.5-ranked contender, tougher tests are imminent as he plots a path to the divisional gold.

Whatever the future holds, for now, Nico Carrillo can celebrate his victory and the US$50,000 performance bonus he earned for his highlight-reel win inside the Mecca of Muay Thai on April 4.

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 30 card via replay for free.