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'King of the North' Nico Carrillo is ultra confident that he'll slay the next Dragon at ONE 170.
As Carillo suggested in a recent interview with Leather'd Podcast, he believes he can beat newly minted double-world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title on January 24.
But as unbeatable as Superlek is at the moment, if there's anyone who can take this massive undertaking after Jonathan Haggerty, it's Nico Carrillo. The 26-year-old Scotsman has wrecked every opponent in his path since he joined ONE Championship in 2023.
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Maybe he's a little too overconfident, but when you've been able to maintain a 100% finishing rate against the best strikers on the planet, he's certainly earned the bragging rights to say that he could be the next ONE world champion.
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Speaking to Leather'd Podcast, Carrillo explained where all this self-assurance comes from:
"So the confidence comes from doing things that you have already done. So the bigger the dragon you have to slay, the more evidence you have that you can slay the next one."
Watch Superlek put his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai gold on the line against Nico Carrillo at ONE 170, which airs live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, for Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Nico Carrillo sees much improvement since he defeated Muay Thai living legend Nong-O Hama at OFF 46
Nico Carrillo knew he had the potential to become a world-renowned superstar when he defeated former long-reigning divisional champion Nong-O Hama by KO at ONE Fight Night 46.
Before Jonathan Haggerty came into the picture, Nong-O had a comfortable stronghold over the division. He was virtually indestructible and possessed a record of 10-0 in ONE Championship.
The realization that he could make it to the No. 1 contender spot in the rankings after destroying Nong-O was everything that Carrillo could ever think about.
Crediting his team and fight camp, Carrillo told ONE:
"I'm a new fighter compared to seven months ago when I fought Nong-O. That shows how much I'm improving in the space of one fight camp."
