"I was taking away his weapon" - Nico Carrillo reveals turning point that led to finish of Saemapetch
Nico Carrillo discussed the primary weapon he took away from Saemapetch in their recent Muay Thai matchup.
At ONE Fight Night 23, Carrillo put his number-one ranking in the bantamweight Muay Thai division on the line. The Scottish contender's latest test was against number four-ranked Saemapetch, a hard-hitting veteran who was coming off a first-round knockout win against Mohamed Younes Rabah.
Similar to Carrillo's previous opponents, Saemapetch wasn't able to handle the 29-year-old's power. In round two, 'King of the North' secured a knockout win, extending his promotional record to 4-0, all by KO/TKO and earning a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Carrillo was asked about his impressive performance against Saemapetch. The Scottish superstar had this to say about taking away his opponent's primary weapon:
"I was taking away his weapon from him and that's it. All he has it that left hand and once I took that, it was over."
ONE Fight Night 23 took place inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The replay of the July 5 event can be seen by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Watch Nico Carrillo's entire interview with the South China Morning Post below:
Nico Carrillo turns focus to ONE 168 main event between Jonathan Haggerty and Superlek
Following his latest win, Nico Carrillo will likely receive a ONE bantamweight Muay Thai title shot later this year. The question is, who will 'King of the North' face to potentially become a world champion in a legacy-defining moment?
On September 6, two-sport world champion Jonathan Haggerty looks to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai world title in the ONE 168: Denver main event. Standing in Haggerty's way of another resume-building win is flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek, who is coming off wins against Rodtang and Takeru Segawa.
ONE 168 goes down inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Tickets for the promotion's highly-anticipated return to North America, which features Haggerty vs Superlek and Kade Ruotolo vs Mikey Musumeci, can be found here.