Scottish slugger Nico Carrillo says his popularity 'boomed' tremendously after he KO'ed Nong-O

In just four fights under the ONE Championship banner, Nico Carrillo has risen through the ranks to the top.

The Scottish striker arrived in the promotion with plenty of promise but his emphatic performances and knockouts have skyrocketed his career in the past two years.

Carrillo arrived in the stacked bantamweight Muay Thai division and immediately made a name for himself on his debut by stopping Furkan Karabag.

However, it was the two wins that followed this that put him on the map in a big way, and 'King of the North' recognizes that.

In a recent interview with the Leather'd Podcast, Carrillo spoke about the moment that his career really made a significant leap after he secured one of the biggest wins possible. Though his second win in the promotion was also massively important, stopping a former world champion and icon of the sport like Nong-O Hama catapulted him to new heights:

"Absolutely. I mean I beat Muangthai, which was huge as well but I felt like my popularity kind of boomed after that Nong-O fight."

Watch the full interview below:

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Nico Carrillo can take another big step at ONE 170

Taking out multiple icons of the sport in Thailand has put Nico Carrillo into the position that he now finds himself in.

On Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, he has the opportunity to do that once again but on an even bigger scale than before.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 argues for being the best striker in the world today and he's set to kick off 2025 with the first defense of his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

If Carrillo can continue his winning streak to seize the throne from an elite competitor like 'The Kicking Machine', it will once again take his career to new heights.