“I’ll never shy away from a challenge” - Alex Roberts ready to climb back up to world title contention

Alex Roberts came up short of becoming the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world champion after receiving a second-round knockout finish from Roman Kryklia in their main event fight that headlined ONE Fight Night 17, which went down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 8, 2023.

But the reigning WBC heavyweight Muay Thai champion isn’t going anywhere, as he plans to earn his way back to the ONE world title picture and secure another opportunity to wear the 26-pound golden belt around his waist.

Following that loss from Kryklia, the 34-year-old Australian published a lengthy post on his Instagram account where he broke down what transpired during the match, showed his gratitude for ONE Championship, and discussed his next course of action.

He captioned the post with:

“Not the result we wanted on the weekend but that is the fight game sometimes. Had a great back and forth first round then got clipped with a beauty of a left hook in the second. Managed to get straight back up but the fight was called there. I knew we were in for a firefight with this one and 1 shot will be all it would take in the 4 ounce gloves. Unfortunately I came off second best. I’ll never shy away from a challenge and will go out there and give it my all every single time. I’ll recover and regroup and be back soon to do it all again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that supports me and to @onechampionship for the opportunity. I have really felt the love the last few days and it has really meant a lot to me in this dark time. I look forward to entertaining you all again soon and getting back into the win column. Another big thank you post to come… #onechampionship #muaythai #gratitude”

Despite the defeat in his promotional debut, ‘The Viking’ showed that he can hang against the best strikers in the world and proved that he deserves a spot in the world’s largest martial arts organization by landing a few good shots on the now two-sport world champion.

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Alex Roberts can compete in other rulesets in ONE Championship while waiting for another shot against Roman Kryklia

As ONE Championship continues to beef up and improve its roster by signing more athletes, Roberts could potentially compete in other sports that the promotion has, specifically kickboxing and MMA.

This could serve as good preparation for him while he awaits more contenders in the heavyweight Muay Thai division to be signed by ONE Championship. Additionally, it could open more opportunities for him and give him a chance to further boost his popularity among the global audience.

The full replay of ONE Fight Night 17 is available free on demand for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.