Former ONE Championship bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O Hama is looking for his rematch against Jonathan Haggerty. Standing in his way, however, is Nico Carrillo. The Scottish slugger will try to upend the Thai legend at ONE Friday Fights 46 tonight.
Major Muay Thai Showdown Tonight at ONE Friday Fights 46
Carrillo has put together back-to-back wins on the ONE Friday Fights series, including a second-round TKO over Muangthai PK Saenchai. The 25-year-old knows he is inching closer to becoming a title threat and a win over Nong-O would solidify that status. He believes the stars are aligned to give him the best opportunity to shine with the world watching.
“I was obviously absolutely buzzing when they came to me with Nong-O, I thought they would maybe give me Saemapetch [Fairtex] or [Felipe] Lobo first. That fight, then maybe another fight before the title fight, but I obviously jumped on the opportunity to fight Nong-O. Especially after him coming off such a bad knockout at his age, I just don’t feel like he can recover from that so well, so it’s probably the best time to fight him. Then it’s off to be champion next year,” Carrillo told ONE.
Carrillo is aware of the Muay Thai icon’s strengths, but he sees enough weaknesses that he can exploit to shock the crowd inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Although, taking advantage of those minor flaws is much harder to do inside the ring. To prepare for the moment, Carrillo decided to make a big change in preparation for this fight camp.
“The biggest thing that I’ve probably done this fight camp that I wouldn’t do in any other is I actually came to Thailand for the full fight camp. So, I made a massive sacrifice being away from home, being away from my fiancée, my loved ones, which has been very difficult, but I understand that it’s all part of the process, and I understand that all of the sacrifice is necessary for a fight like this. I always train as hard as I can, that doesn’t change from fight camp to fight camp, but just preparing a lot longer in Thailand has been the difference for this one,” the Scotsman said.
“Coco” feels he will have a significant advantage with his youth and vigor. He has called out the difference in athletic training, and how many Thai athletes have only recently began focusing on strength and conditioning in recent years. Carrillo expects that to pay off in a major way on Friday.
“Another factor will be that I’m younger, I’m hungrier. Nong-O has already had it all. He’s already had the belts, the riches, the fame. I believe it’s just time for him to pass the torch to a younger, hungrier person more deserving of the title shot,” the bantamweight said.
ONE Friday Fights 46 airs live tonight. The event is available for $39.99 on global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com. The action gets underway at 7:30 a.m. EST/4:30 a.m. PST.
