Nico Carrillo Reveals Painful Truth Behind His Defeat Against Nabil Anane Ahead of ONE Fight Night 30
Nico Carrillo is ready to shed the heartbreak from his first loss under the ONE Championship banner.
In January, ‘The King of the North’ stepped inside the Circle as a heavy favorite to leave as the ONE interim bantamweight kickboxing world champion against replacement opponent Nabil Anane. Instead, Anane took home the gold, scoring a jaw-dropping first-round TKO over Carrillo inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
“I was devastated. I’d never wanted the clocks to turn back so much,” Carrillo told ONE while looking back on the devastating defeat.
“The one thing I wanted to do in life at that point was turn the clocks back, and I knew I couldn’t. It broke my heart. I’ve never been as heartbroken as I was that night. I’d have taken a family member dying much easier than I took that defeat, but it’s now a reminder of what can happen in this game.”
Needless to say, it was a tough pill for Carrillo to swallow, and one that he immediately wanted to rectify. Unfortunately, with no fight yet booked and no training schedule in place, the Scot found himself bouncing off the walls while waiting for something to come down the pike.
“When you get beat, the only thing you want to do is get right back to it,” Carrillo continued. “But I live in Scotland. I don’t have any great sparring partners or trainers outside of my immediate training circle. My coach is in Thailand a lot, too.
“For a few weeks, I was pulling my hair out waiting for news. I can’t just disappear to Thailand. I have responsibilities here. It just made me realize that training and fighting Muay Thai is the only thing that makes me happy. It’s all that has mattered to me since that day. I’m dying to right that wrong.”
Nico Carrillo returns to action against Sitthichai at ONE Fight Night 30
This Friday, April 4, Carrillo will get his shot at redemption when he meets Thai icon Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at ONE Fight Night 30 on Prime Video.
Not only will it be Carrillo’s first time trying to bounce back from a loss inside the Circle, but it will also serve as his featherweight Muay Thai debut. Previously, Carrillo competed at bantamweight, but after struggling with the weight cut ahead of his fight with Anane, ‘The King of the North’ knew it was time to move up.
“I’ve put the lessons of loss into practice,” Carrillo said. “I’m ready to show the world it was a one-off. As a result, I’ve actually gone back to try and master Muay Thai and not just knock people’s heads off with my boxing.
“I’ve gone back to how I used to fight, engaging in the full powers of Muay Thai with my heavy kicks instead of just boxing with [4-ounce] MMA gloves on. But the biggest lesson was to listen to your body and never put it under that stress again versus people at the highest level.”
Overall, Nico Carrillo is 27-4-1 in his career with his last four wins all coming in ONE Championship and all ending inside the distance. His opponent at ONE Fight Night 30, Sitthichai, is a former eight-time titleholder in kickboxing and the art of eight limbs with 129 career wins to his credit.
Sitthichai currently sits as the No. 4 ranked contender in ONE’s featherweight Muay Thai division.
