Scottish striking star Nico Carrillo felt a weight lifted off his shoulders this past weekend as he made a ceremonious return to action at ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles.
The #3-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender made his featherweight Muay Thai debut on Friday, April 4, taking out #5-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong in the second round at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Carrillo last competed at ONE 170 in January, where he suffered a first-round knockout loss to ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai king Nabil Anane. The moment marked his first defeat in ONE Championship, and he responded emphatically.
So when Sitthichai fell and the bell sounded, “King of the North” felt a surge of excitement rush through his body.
“This victory means more to me than any victory I’ve had in my full career. This is bigger than when I beat Nong-O, when I beat Muangthai. This is bigger than any of that because I came back from a loss, and I was fighting some serious demons in January. I completely lost myself,” he said.
“I lost a lot of confidence, and I’m so grateful to ONE Championship [they] allowed me to come back, to right that wrong. And I’m just so happy and pleased with myself that I kept all the demons at bay, all the voices in my head that were scared, and I didn’t want to feel that feeling again.”
