“Nong-O prepared way harder for me” – Nico Carrillo says his KO over Nong-O was much better than Jonathan Haggerty’s win

Things are beginning to heat up between No.5-ranked contender Nico Carrillo and reigning ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty.

Following Carrillo’s stunning second-round knockout of Nong-O Hama at ONE Friday Fights 46 last month, ‘King of the North’ called out Haggerty for a potential title tilt in 2024. “Tick tock,” Carrillo said in his post-fight interview, possibly suggesting that time is running out for the kingpin or his time to compete for the title is nearing.

Haggerty was quick to snap back, turning Carrillo’s own words against him. “Tick-tock, you almost got stopped.”

Speaking with the South China Moring Post, Nico Carrillo offered his response to Haggerty’s comeback, suggesting that he faced a far more dangerous version of Nong-O than the one ‘The General’ faced at ONE Fight Night 9 in April 2023.

He said:

“I've not even been on my phone, so that's that's the response from Hag,” Carrillo said. “He says Tick Tock Tik Tok you almost got stopped. That's his response so far. I'm sure this got I got a better version of [a knockout over Nong-O] than Haggerty did. That's a fact, And everybody in the arena and everybody around the world knows that Nong-O prepared way harder for me than he did for Haggerty.”

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Nico Carrillo suggests Nong-O didn’t train hard for Haggerty

Jonathan Haggerty’s impressive first-round finish of Nong-O last year sent shockwaves through the world of Muay Thai, but Nico Carrillo downplayed the Brit’s accomplishment, suggesting that Nong-O walked into the bout without taking his opponent seriously.

“He actually came out and went after me,” Carrillo said of his clash with Nong-O. “With Haggerty, I just thought he didn't know much about him and he was just a foreigner so he didn't really train so hard for it.”

With Carrillo and ‘The General’ holding highlight-reel-worthy knockouts against the former ONE world champion, is it time that we find out who the UK’s king in the art of eight limbs truly is?

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE Friday Fights 46 replay can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.