The Scottish striker suffered one of the biggest upsets in recent combat sports memory when he was knocked out by the Thai-Algerian at ONE 170 this past January.
The setback marked Carrillo’s first loss since joining ONE Championship in April 2023, ending a remarkable run that saw him demolish striking royalty like Muangthai PK Saenchai, Nong-O Hama, and Saemapetch Fairtex.
Speaking candidly about his mindset following the setback, Carrillo drew inspiration from an unlikely source to explain his approach to adversity.
“You know something, it’s like 50 Cent said: ‘Joy wouldn’t feel so good if it wasn’t for pain, sunshine wouldn’t feel so good if it wasn’t for rain,’” he said.
“And I felt that. Winning and winning and winning, there’s no better feeling. But when you go down, the joy of winning is just amplified times 100.”
“King of the North” had been riding a wave of momentum that positioned him as one of the bantamweight Muay Thai division’s leading challengers.
The bump in the road not only derailed his title aspirations but also forced him to confront the reality of defeat for the first time in his ONE tenure.
But as a resilient athlete, Carrillo has been able to acknowledge the psychological impact of that and come to the realization that it was a necessary part of his growth.
“That hardship affected me big time,” he divulged.
“It was probably one of the hardest things I’ve dealt with from what I can remember. I’ve been winning for so long, so this one hit hard. But in order to grow, I feel that failure is mandatory.”
