“Fighting as the boogeyman” - Knockout monster Nico Carrillo explains his maniacal mindset when preparing for fights

Nico Carrillo has one simple mantra when preparing for fights.

The Scottish knockout monster would rather suffer the most in training if it means he'll be in the perfect fighting shape when he steps between the ropes.

In an interview with Conor Malone, Carrillo said he would put himself through hell during training camp in his quest to become the best fighter that he could be.

Carrillo expounded that if he's suffered enough in the gym, then his fights would be easier in comparison to what he went through in camp.

He said:

"So it's important to suffer in training and make your training as difficult and as horrible as it can be, so that when you come to fighting or whatever it is you do, competition day, think of that competition or that person you're fighting as the boogeyman."

Nico Carrillo added:

"And when they're not, it's a good day, you know what I mean. But you've already prepared for them to be. And so if they are, then you've prepared that way. But when they're not, oh, it's a good night. So, and that's the way I always prepare."

That maniacal energy to put himself through the wringer for months led Carrillo to a strong 5-1 record in ONE Championship, with all five wins coming by way of terrifying knockout.

'King of the North' is coming off a methodical second-round knockout of Thai legend Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at ONE Fight Night 30.

That win over Sitthichai put Nico Carrillo into the fourth spot in the stacked featherweight Muay Thai rankings.

Watch Carrillo's entire interview below:

---

Nico Carrillo says he's in his best form at featherweight

Nico Carrillo wreaked the most havoc when he fought at the 145-pound bantamweight division, but he feels he's in his best form at featherweight.

In the same interview with Conor Malone, Carrillo said he's happier fighting at 155 pounds and feels he's in a healthier state than before. He said:

"It's super exciting, mate. It's super, super exciting. It feels like there's new life in me now, because before, getting matched came with this big dread of weight cut. So I would just link fighting to weight cutting, and that's when I said a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter, and I wasn't happy for so long there because I would go into fight camp and it would start well, and I was like, right, six weeks out, now I need to start cutting weight. And it's difficult. It's one of the hardest things in the world."