‘Bigger, Stronger, More Powerful’ – Nico Carrillo Aims To Begin Featherweight Run With Win Over Sitthichai

Nico “King of the North” Carrillo is being thrown into the deep end of the star-studded featherweight Muay Thai division, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

On April 4, live in U.S. primetime at ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles on Prime Video, the Scottish knockout artist will square off with #4-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender Sitthichai “Killer Kid” Sitsongpeenong.

That hotly anticipated showdown will take place at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, and for Carrillo, it will be his chance to assert himself as a top-five contender at featherweight.

The 26-year-old racked up four straight highlight-reel knockouts to begin his ONE tenure and mark himself among the elite in the bantamweight Muay Thai division.

However, in January at ONE 170, Carrillo’s hype train came to a screeching halt when he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Nabil Anane in the pair’s ONE Interim Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title fight.

Looking back, Carrillo believes that although he was able to find plenty of success at bantamweight, he was depleting his body too much in order to make the 145-pound limit.

He told onefc.com that he’ll soon showcase a new and improved version of himself at featherweight:

“I was getting away with it for a long, long time, but now I’m going in at full health and I’m so excited to see how it unfolds.

“But if they think they’ve seen the best of me, it’s yet to come. I’m going to be so much bigger, stronger, and more powerful at this weight. It’s frightening.”

Indeed, the heavily muscled Carrillo was one of the hardest-hitting bantamweights fans have seen in years – which is exactly why his loss to Anane was so shocking.

“King of the North” remains undeterred, though, and is poised to silence his critics and return to his winning ways at ONE Fight Night 30:

“I do have a point to prove. My life has stood still for this. I can’t just take time off after what happened, it can’t happen. I need to prove a lot of people wrong.

“Minus the head knock, I’ve never come out of a fight so unscathed in my life. I’ve been absolutely fine and ready to go. You’re only as good as your last fight, so it’s just about putting things right here.”

Carrillo feels like he’s found a new lease on life at featherweight.

Without the constant dieting and watching of the scale, “King of the North” is finding more energy to push himself to his limit daily, which is a terrifying proposition for Sitthichai and the rest of the featherweight Muay Thai division.

He added:

“It does feel like a new beginning. I’ve been enjoying this a lot more. I’ve not had to be in a calorie deficit for weeks on end so I’ve been able to eat more and learn more. I’ve actually been able to get better.

“I’m more energetic in training and throughout the day. I don’t feel burned out like I used to. Every day feels very great.”

Carrillo Is ‘Excited’ To Face A Top-Five Contender

Nico Carrillo has been given no easy task in his return to the featherweight division. Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong is a battle-tested veteran who has found plenty of success in both kickboxing and Muay Thai and is the only man to defeat current featherweight Muay Thai king Tawanchai PK Saenchai in ONE.

“King of the North” explained why he’s so excited to go toe-to-toe with the decorated Thai:

“Just how big a name he is. How successful he is. He’s the only one to beat Tawanchai. I’m just excited to go back into the deep end to show everyone how much I’m capable of.

“No tune ups. No warm ups. Nothing like that. Just right back at the highest level where I belong.”

Carrillo was quick to heap well-deserved praise on Sitthichai, but don’t confuse that respect with a lack of confidence.

Quite the opposite, Carrillo plans to score an emphatic victory on April 4, steal his foe’s spot in the top-five rankings, and begin his climb toward featherweight Muay Thai gold:

“I’m just excited to fight him. I’m excited to show that I can arrive in this new division and cause an upset. He’s beaten greats before, he’s established himself as one of the best to ever fight in Muay Thai, and he’s only 33. So he’s a great challenge for me.”