“This is going to be wild” - Fans hyped for Nong-O’s return against Scottish sensation Nico Carrillo

The upcoming ONE Friday Fights 46 card on December 22 that goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, has added a new match that makes the event more stacked.

Former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion and current No. 1-ranked contender Nong-O Hama is set to meet the No.5-ranked divisional contender Nico Carrillo in an all-important bout that could determine the next challenger to ONE bantamweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Jonathan Haggerty.

The fight was officially announced by ONE Championship on their Instagram account on November 14, 2023, with the caption:

“This one's going to be a BANGER 🤩 Who will win when former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O throws down with #5-ranked contender Nico Carrillo on December 22?! @nongogaiyanghadao @nicocarrillo_kotn”

This fight announcement sent fans into a frenzy, as they were expecting a top-level match full of fireworks between the two Muay Thai superstars. Comments and opinions from Instagram users @jayd19841, @nanananabrettman, @m.ederos, @djisnotreallyadj, @delerio88, @limktg_7132, @aaronlangford96, and @luelulo spearheaded the comment section of the social media post.

They commented:

“Some fight this 🔥🔥”

“This is going to be wild.”

“Nong-o is my favourite fighter of all times. I am very excited to watch this match!”

“This is actually incredible matchmaking, Nico chomping at the bit asking for a big fight, and he was answered with this monster! All these showcase fights are Actually putting uk Muay Thai at the forefront of combat sports, if Nico does it he rockets right to the top and a title fight with Haggerty surely awaits the winner!”

“Nong O know he’s going to go heavy with the hands, just like Haggerty did. Won’t fall for it again. Nongo KO win 👌”

“The return of the Legend! Let’s Gooooo Nong-O! 🇹🇭✊🔥🔥”

“Show the Thais how us Scottish do it 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿”

“Nico will be a problem! KOTN”

Screenshot of fans' comments

More screenshot of fans' comments

Nong-O is fresh off his tough first-round knockout defeat at the hands of Jonathan Haggerty in the main event of ONE Fight Night 9 in April 2023. It was his first loss under the world’s largest martial arts organization after winning his first 10 fights on his way to becoming a dominant titleholder.

Meanwhile, Carillo climbed up the ranking with his back-to-back TKO finishes of Furkan Karabag in April 2023 at ONE Friday Fights 13 and Muangthai PK Saenchai in June 2023 at ONE Friday Fights 23. The ‘King of the North’ looks to collect his third straight victory and bypass the line of other contenders in the division, thus setting up a world title clash with ‘The General.’

ONE Friday Fights 46 is available on the ONE Super App, the official ONE Championship YouTube channel, and other digital platforms.