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Three-time Muay Thai world champion Liam Harrison has shared his perspective on the surefire all-UK hit between Scotland's Nico Carrillo and England's Jonathan Haggerty, suggesting the opportunity for this dream matchup may have already passed.
The pair were at the crossroads for over a year when Haggerty, then the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion, named Carrillo as the rightful challenger to his throne.
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'King of the North,' who racked up four consecutive knockouts in the division against Furkan Karabag, Muangthai PK Saenchai, Nong-O Hama, and Saemapetch, however, saw that opportunity fall out of the window after Superlek Kiatmoo9 stunned Haggerty at ONE 168: Denver to claim the division's 26 pounds of gold.
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When Carrillo was then locked in to face Nabil Anane for the interim strap at ONE 170, originally a world title fight with Superlek until an injury ruled the Thai out of the fight, the Scotsman suffered a crushing first-round KO to the surging Thai-Algerian phenom that saw him move to featherweight.
With Haggerty now ruling over the bantamweight kickboxing division, coupled with Carrillo's switch to featherweight, Harrison can't see how this fight takes place now. The 39-year-old told ONE Championship:
"[Carrillo] looked like an animal against Sitthichai. So I'm looking forward to seeing how he does there. Jon's bantamweight through and through. So I think the ship has sailed now."
Nico Carrillo eyes world title fight after Sitthichai demolition at ONE Fight Night 30
Fresh off completing his redemption arc with a second-round stoppage win over Muay Thai and kickboxing legend Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Nico Carrillo is ready to throw down against more ranked contenders in the featherweight Muay Thai division.
But if he has his way, the 26-year-old slugger from Glasgow will be happy to entertain the idea of a world title fight against divisional king Tawanchai PK Saenchai.
"I think beating Sitthichai with the style that I did probably puts me there [in world title contention], yeah."
North American fans who missed his statement finish of Sitthichai at ONE Fight Night 30 can catch the entire card via replay on Amazon Prime Video.
