“The weight cut was just absolutely tragic” - Nico Carrillo reveals the moment he decided to move up to featherweight

Nico Carrillo admitted that his weight cut for ONE 170 led to his decision to move up to featherweight.

On Jan. 24, Carrillo was scheduled to challenge Superlek for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

Superlek pulled out due to an injury, leading to Carrillo and Nabil Anane battling for the interim bantamweight Muay Thai strap.

Anane won by first-round knockout, which Carrillo partially credited to his loss to his drastic weight cut that left him weak at ONE 170.

Carrillo has since announced he's moving up to the featherweight division. He explained his decision during an interview with the South China Morning Post:

"I’ve had a lot of time to sit and talk about it. I’ve not come out and said this yet, but when I was cutting the weight - and obviously a lot of people probably thought I wasn’t going to make it, we as a team probably thought at one point we were cutting it tight as well - I knew while I was cutting the weight that no matter what happens between me and Nabil, I wasn’t gonna fight Superlek."

Carrillo continued by saying:

"I made the decision in that weight cut that even if I beat Nabil, I would have just vacated the title and let someone else fight Superlek because the weight cut was just absolutely tragic."

Nico Carrillo fought in the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai division five times, winning his first four by knockout. Carrillo now looks to bounce back from his loss against Nabil Anane and attempt to take over featherweight.

Watch Carrillo's entire interview with The South China Morning Post below:

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Potential featherweight Muay Thai opponents for Nico Carrillo

Nico Carrillo proved he's a world-class Muay Thai striker during his bantamweight tenure that featured wins against Muangthai, Nong-O, and Saemapetch.

Carrillo could find himself matched up against a top featherweight Muay Thai contender to establish himself in the division's title picture.

Potential opponents for Carrillo's ONE featherweight debut include but are not limited to number five-ranked Luke Lessei and number three-ranked Jo Nattawut.

The ONE featherweight Muay Thai division is run by 5x world champion Tawanchai, who recently defended his throne in a rematch against Superbon.