“Now I don’t need to cut” - Nico Carrillo feeling stronger than ever in transition to featherweight

Nico Carrillo recently decided to move up in weight and he couldn't be happier with his decision.

"King of the North" last competed at ONE 170, where he suffered a shocking knockout loss to Nabil Anane, who was then crowned as the ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion.

Prior to the loss, Carrillo was dominating the competition with four straight knockout victories, arguably none bigger than a show-stopping finish over former bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O.

He stepped inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand as a strong favorite to win ONE gold, especially since Nabil was a late replacement for reigning titleholder Superlek. However, everyone was stunned when the lanky Thai-Algerian striker had his way against Carrillo early on.

After the fight, the Scottish star revealed that he faced issues making weight for the fight and admitted that he was not at his best. He also said that he was going to move up a weight class.

Some weeks removed from his decision, he told SCMP MMA that he isn't looking back and is happy to now compete at featherweight.

"The beauty of this now is I want to stay really active. Before, couldn’t be so active because the weight cuts did take a toll on me and it was unhealthy to go fight with a weight cut. Now I don’t need to cut weight, so now I can fight regularly," he said.

Nico Carrillo may be back sooner than later

Nico Carrillo may have already willed his desire to fight more into reality.

The 26-year-old has hinted on his Instagram that he may be fighting again and is already back in training.

In the caption, he simply said:

"Fight announcement soon🕙👊🏻 Back in the motherland."

It will be interesting to see how Nico Carrillo fares against the insanely talented featherweight Muay Thai division, especially since his size was a key factor in running through opponents in the bantamweight ranks. At the 155-pound limit division, he will have no shortage of skilled opponents who may be similar in size or even bigger than him.

Among the absolute killers of the featherweight Muay Thai division, who do you think should Nico Carrillo face first?