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On paper, the potential all-British clash between Scottish mauler Nico Carrillo and English KO artist Jonathan Haggerty carries a lot of intrigue and has the makings of an instant classic.
Plus, there seems to be real friction between 'King of the North' and 'The General', judging by the war of words they have exchanged through the media. But as much as Carrillo still wants to get his hands on Haggerty, the circumstances have changed drastically.
Haggerty lost his bantamweight Muay Thai world title to Superlek Kiatmoo9 at ONE 168: Denver this past September. Suddenly, the idea of slugging it out with the bantamweight kickboxing champ no longer feels as enticing.
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Nico Carrillo, after all, has already shifted his crosshairs to the new king of the 145-pound Muay Thai ranks.
The second-ranked contender said in an appearance on the Leather’d Podcast:
"So there's a big thing or motivation for beating both of them. But right now beating Superlek is way bigger than beating Haggerty Like I said it wasn't the opponent, it was always whoever was carrying that gold, that is where I was focused on."
As it stands, Haggerty is still ranked No. 1 in the bantamweight Muay Thai division.
If Carrillo can cut Superlek Kiatmoo9's reign short at ONE 170, a showdown against 'The General' is still likely on the cards.
Watch Nico Carrillo's full interview:
Nico Carrillo honored to take on pound-for-pound best striker Superlek
On Jan. 24, 2025, Nico Carrillo will challenge Superlek for the bantamweight Muay Thai gold at ONE 170 inside Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
The magnitude of this showdown is not lost on the Scottish slugger, given the remarkable run 'The Kicking Machine' has been as of late.
In the same interview, the Glasgow, Scottland native admitted he needs to be at his absolute best to have a chance against arguably the best striker on the planet:
"He's never been stopped in like 300-plus fights. He's never been knocked out. He has got the number one ranking for pound-for-pound striker on the planet right now."
Prime Video subscribers in North America can watch ONE 170 free live as it happens in US primetime.
