"I'm still improving" - Nico Carrillo sends chilling warning to everyone in the bantamweight Muay Thai division
Knockout artist Nico Carrillo believes he hasn't even scratched the surface of what he can do as a top bantamweight Muay Thai contender.
'The King of the North' has likely earned the title shot of his dreams after completely destroying Muay Thai veteran Saemapetch Fairtex at ONE Fight Night 23.
Carrillo's fourth straight victory via knockout hasn't gone unnoticed this time, with the Scottish standout earning his first 50K performance bonus in Bangkok's Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Seeing as he's only one fight away from being a potential world champion, Carrillo is excited to level-up again within the next few months, and become a bigger threat for the current world title holder of his division - be it either Jonathan Haggerty or Superlek Kiatmoo9 after their pending clash at ONE 168: Denver.
Speaking at the OFN23 post-event interviews this past week, Carrillo said:
"Yeah, I'm still improving, [even] in this fight camp alone. I'm a new fighter compared to seven months ago when I fought Nong-O. That shows how much I'm improving [I've done] in a space of one fight camp. "
The replay of ONE Fight Night 23 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
"Designed to mimic the weapons of war" - Swinging the elbows with Nico Carrillo and ONE host and commentator Mitch Chilson
One of the most brutal techniques that Nico Carrillo possesses in his arsenal is the elbow drop.
There's a whole process to Carrillo's madness, and it stems from years of experience as well as a high fight IQ. Recently, when he used it against Saemapetch, which gave him the knockdown, Carrillo explained how to land the slicing elbow after catching a leg kick.
ONE host and commentator Mitch Childon posted their tutorial on Instagram with the caption that explained:
"In Muay Thai, the body is designed to mimic the weapons of war. The elbow was the awe or hammer. Can you imagine a different time and Nico storming through Scotland swinging an axe. Well now he swings elbows. Learn how "The King of the North @nicocarrillo_kotn wields his elbow."