"He just came straight through the middle" - Nico Carrillo on Saemapetch's nasty left that rocked him at ONE Fight Night 23
Ahead of his return at ONE 170, Nico Carrillo revisited his most recent victory under the promotional banner at ONE Fight Night 23 this past July. That evening, 'King of the North' shared the ring with former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title contender Saemapetch Fairtex, looking to stretch his miraculous run in the promotion to 4-0.
While he achieved that in typical fashion, it wasn't just one-way traffic from the Scottish talent during their bantamweight joust inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
After a cagey opening period, where both men tested one another's guard behind a variety of punches and kicks, the Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy man started to fire off with confidence.
However, the Faitex Training Center athlete responded with similar bombs — and a cracking left that landed on the money. Nico Carrillo broke down that particular juncture during an appearance on the Leather'd Podcast recently, saying:
"I was on one leg when it happened. I threw an inside low kick, and I threw the first one good, and I threw the second one to set up something else. But because I sacrificed that shot to throw something else, he caught me while I was on one leg, and I went to throw the inside low kick, and he just came straight through the middle with the left."
Watch the full interview here:
Nico Carrillo's ability to turn the tide helped him once more at ONE Fight Night 23
Though he faced stiff opposition from Saemapetch, Carrillo turned things around in the following round, just as he did against Nong-O Hama in the match before this.
Nico Carrillo sent the Thai star crashing to the canvas with two perfectly timed left hooks. And a final straight right on the jaw put him away for good at the 2:03 mark of the second round.
The Scotsman will face Superlek Kiatmoo9 next for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 170, which will be available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America on Jan. 24.