Nico Carrillo expects Nabil Anane to eventually meet him at featherweight: "He will come up"

Scottish knockout merchant Nico Carrillo believes a future showdown with ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Nabil Anane is inevitable as the Thai-Algerian phenom continues his physical development in the coming years.

The 21-year-old Anane, who stands at six feet four, should add a few more inches and pack more muscles into his lanky frame in due time. And Carrillo, who experienced this over the past year, expects their paths to cross again as they continue their respective journeys in ONE Championship.

"He's grown - he's only 21, so he will come up," Nico Carrillo told Conor Malone when discussing his thoughts about running it back against the Team Mehdi Zatout fighter. "And that will need to be a bridge to cross when it comes to it."

However, 'King of the North' has consciously chosen not to fixate on this potential future encounter, instead focusing his energy on the immediate challenges at featherweight.

"But until then, I can't be obsessed with this," he explained. "I'm on a new journey now with new fighters that I never ever thought of before, and now I am thinking of them."

Watch his interview with Conor Malone here:

Carrillo faced the music when he met Anane during their ONE interim bantamweight Muay Thai world title tilt at ONE 170 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy representative, who stands at five-foot-ten, struggled to make the bantamweight limit while being at a passable hydration limit during fight week.

His struggles showed on fight night. Nico Carrillo was sent to the canvas thrice by Anane en route to a first-round TKO loss just 155 seconds into their duel.

Just a day later, he took to his Instagram account (@nicocarrillo_kotn) to declare that he'll be moving up to featherweight.

His decision to start afresh at a more comfortable weight class hit the nail on the head.

'King of the North' fired on all cylinders to finish multi-time world champion Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong at ONE Fight Night 30 in April, a win that gave the Glaswegian warrior his fifth stoppage win to ensure he maintained his 100 percent finish rate in the promotion.

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Tawanchai approves Nico Carrillo's featherweight switch

ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai loves a new challenge. Per his assessment, the Thai fighter expects Nico Carrillo to achieve great things in the weight bracket that he rules.

"I think it’s great that he’s moved up to featherweight. I think he’s a great addition to the division," Tawanchai told the South China Morning Post days before Nico Carrillo's victorious debut against Sitthichai.

"His physique is quite big, so I think he just gets more advantages. I think he will have more power, which I think is great. And I think he can fight anyone because now, he has more power."

Nico Carrillo's victory against Sitthichai also pushed him right into the world title mix.

The Deachkalek Muay Thai Academy standout now sits as the No.4-ranked contender and finds himself just three spots away from a hopeful showdown against longtime kingpin Tawanchai.