The fists of “King of the North” Nico Carrillo are what the featherweight division fears. The miles are what fuel them.
Scotland’s finest added another chapter to his growing legacy at ONE Fight Night 40 this past February. There, he claimed the ONE Interim Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship after grinding down Shadow Mavinn over five rounds with his trademark power and an engine that ran as strong in the fifth as it did in the first.
Away from the gym, though, there is another side to the 27-year-old knockout artist that the featherweight division rarely gets to see. Before the alarm goes off for morning sparring sessions, the Scotsman has already laced his shoes up for a quick run.
It is not the obligatory jog that most fighters reluctantly tick off their training checklist, but a genuine, deeply held passion that has quietly shaped everything he brings to ONE.
The road, as it turns out, is not just a training tool for Carrillo. It is a sanctuary. Sometimes, his furry bestie, Cali, makes the journey too:
“Running really is a beautiful thing. I just love it. I do it on my own, or sometimes I even bring my little dog with me, too, for some quick runs around my home.
“I’d say it’s a perfect way for me to disconnect from everything else for a bit, while you just soak up the atmospheres or whatever you come across during a run.”
“Running really is a beautiful thing. I just love it. I do it on my own, or sometimes I even bring my little dog with me, too, for some quick runs around my home.
“I’d say it’s a perfect way for me to disconnect from everything else for a bit, while you just soak up the atmospheres or whatever you come across during a run.”
Running has been a quiet but foundational pillar in building the complete destructive force he is today. “King of the North” approaches his mileage with the precision of a sports scientist, structuring his running around the specific physiological demands of fight camp.
His VO2 max – the gold standard measure of aerobic capacity – sits at 65, a figure that places him firmly in the company of serious endurance athletes. In simpler terms, his engine is built to go harder, longer, and recover faster than almost anyone he will ever share the global stage with.
The numbers in camp tell the same story, as Carrillo explained:
“During the first few weeks of camp, I do my threshold running every Monday. It is one kilometer repeats. It’s the best way to build the engine. And then, I will stop doing that as I get closer to the fight.
“I just have so much experience running, and I know what helps with my stamina, which ones help you stay explosive, which ones develop more speed. There’s this and that. So, I just know what to do and when to do it.”
“During the first few weeks of camp, I do my threshold running every Monday. It is one kilometer repeats. It’s the best way to build the engine. And then, I will stop doing that as I get closer to the fight.
“I just have so much experience running, and I know what helps with my stamina, which ones help you stay explosive, which ones develop more speed. There’s this and that. So, I just know what to do and when to do it.”
The kilometer repeats he refers to are not gentle warm-up laps. He runs them at a blistering pace of 3 minutes and 30 seconds per kilometer while keeping his heart rate at a controlled 157 beats per minute.
For an athlete operating at that pace and intensity, the numbers signal not just fitness but mastery of effort. Carrillo knows exactly where his ceiling is, and he trains right up to its edge.
That edge, as it turns out, is precisely the point:
“For fight camps, it’s the perfect fuel to add to your game. It’s another way to get uncomfortable, and it teaches your body to overcome discomfort.
“It gives me the edge, and I’m doing it to set a very high standard for myself.”
“For fight camps, it’s the perfect fuel to add to your game. It’s another way to get uncomfortable, and it teaches your body to overcome discomfort.
“It gives me the edge, and I’m doing it to set a very high standard for myself.”
The road has always had Nico Carrillo’s heart. But the trail has his soul.
Scotland is not exactly flat, and “King of the North” would not have it any other way. The hills around Glasgow have a way of turning a casual run into a lung-burning, quad-shredding climb.
The ONE Interim Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion has spent years logging miles across that rugged terrain, building his aerobic engine on ground that demands far more than any treadmill or city pavement ever could.
“It is the natural Scottish terrain, after all, I guess. Hills everywhere, but with that come absolutely amazing views, too. But, if there’s one thing I love above all, it is running on a trail. I love trail running. That’s my favorite.”
“It is the natural Scottish terrain, after all, I guess. Hills everywhere, but with that come absolutely amazing views, too. But, if there’s one thing I love above all, it is running on a trail. I love trail running. That’s my favorite.”
One race in particular has been circling his radar for years. The Ultra Scotland 100 is exactly what its name implies – 104 miles of relentless Scottish terrain along the historic Southern Upland Way, from St John’s Town of Dalry all the way to Galashiels, with 4,611 meters of elevation gain and a 38-hour cutoff window.
It is one of the most demanding ultramarathons in Britain, a race that chews up seasoned runners and delivers them out the other side of something extraordinary. For Carrillo, it sits firmly on the bucket list. It’s a finish line that keeps getting postponed but never abandoned.
“I’ve thought about doing that one multiple times. But every time the registration and the dates show up, I have a fight coming up or something. So, I’ve never quite been able to do that.
“The 100-mile race last year was a week before my wedding, so I definitely couldn’t do that. But I have my eyes set on that when I do have the time, of course.”
“I’ve thought about doing that one multiple times. But every time the registration and the dates show up, I have a fight coming up or something. So, I’ve never quite been able to do that.
“The 100-mile race last year was a week before my wedding, so I definitely couldn’t do that. But I have my eyes set on that when I do have the time, of course.”
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