ONE Fight Night 17 preview and predictions: Roman Kryklia vs. Alex Roberts

Sparks are bound to fly when two absolute mammoths lock horns in the center of the ring in the main event of ONE Fight Night 17: Kryklia vs. Roberts on Prime Video.

The inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world champion will be crowned inside the iconic halls of Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok this Friday, December 8, in ONE Championship’s final Amazon card of 2023.

Roman Kryklia is on the cusp of two-sport supremacy. The Ukranian heavy hitter already lords over the promotion’s light heavyweight kickboxing ranks and intends to assert his dominance in a second sport by collecting a second golden strap made of 26 pounds of gold.

While Kryklia is a kickboxer at heart, it’s not hard to picture him achieving the same success under Muay Thai rules.

Plus, that nuclear power of his will certainly be even more devastating in four-ounce gloves.

While the Gridin Gym standout is the favorite in this showdown, counting Alex Roberts out would be a foolish mistake.

‘The Viking’, who won the WBC Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title in his last outing, would like nothing more than to capture the world title in the biggest stage of martial arts competition.

Like Kryklia, the Australian striker also packs a ton of fight-ending force in his punches and kicks. Roberts is also quite the physical specimen, who is extremely agile and nimble for a man of his size.

As always, Sportskeeda MMA’s panel of ONE Championship writers have offered their two cents on this gigantic showdown of epic proportions. Check out their picks:

Mike Murillo

Battles of the big boys are always an unpredictable fare but for this one I’m going for Roman Kryklia winning and becoming a two-sport ONE world champion.

I say Kryklia as he possesses the speed that has posed problems to many of his opponents in the past, which I see is the case as well for Roberts.

Apart from his towering frame, the Ukrainian juggernaut has successfully combined that with uncanny speed, which will hugely come into play as he finishes Roberts by technical knockout in the third round of their title clash at ONE Fight Night 17.

Australian Roberts, however, is a true Muay Thai fighter, as opposed to his opponent who is a traditional kickboxer, and that should sustain him in the earlier rounds.

Eventually, though, I expect ‘The Viking’ to find it difficult to handle the speed of Kryklia and slumping to the defeat.

Prediction: Roman Kryklia by TKO (third round)

Vince Richards

There’s no better spectacle in combat sports than two heavyweights going at it with reckless abandon.

Roman Kryklia’s world title match against Alex Roberts is one such show that will certainly bring combat sports fans to the edge of their seats.

Roberts may be a newcomer to ONE Championship, but the Australian big man is ready to bring his trademark power to the ring when he meets Kryklia in the main event of ONE Fight Night 17 for the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title.

It’ll be intriguing to see if Kryklia has the length and range to hold off the aggressive Roberts, he did have some difficulties against a hefty heavyweight like Iraj Azizpour in his previous contest.

Kryklia, however, has shown time and again that his quickness, which often belies his 6-foot-7 frame, becomes his most trusted weapon whenever he gets in a pinch.

We saw how Kryklia went berserk when he got a taste of Azizpour’s power, and it could very well happen against Roberts.

There’s no stopping Kryklia once he gets rolling, and I expect the Ukrainian giant to pick up the pace once we reach the middle rounds of the contest.

Roberts will no doubt try to bring the fight to Kryklia, but the ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world champion is far too fast to be drawn into a slugfest.

Prediction: Roman Kryklia by knockout

Ted Razon

Something has to give when two seemingly immovable objects collide. This real-life Godzilla vs. King Kong showdown will be fun for as long as it lasts.

One fighter is going to sleep, and chances are, it’s going to be Roman Kryklia getting his hand raised by the end of the night.

Alex Roberts has proven to be a tough warrior in the past, but he has never encountered a monster of the Ukranian’s caliber.

I foresee the ONE newcomer going guns blazing in the first round and, throwing wild strikes with evil intent.

His vicious strikes could get past the kickboxing king’s defenses, especially since it would be hard to block in four-ounce gloves.

We’ve seen Kryklia get dazed before, but he’s not the type to wave the white flag easily.

I expect Kryklia to shrug off Roberts’ best weapons and dish out some violence in return. We have yet to see how the Australian responds to adversity, and it will be interesting to see if he can weather the storm that’s coming for him.

I see Kryklia swarming him as early as round 1 and getting the stoppage victory to cement himself as a two-sport world champion.

Prediction: Roman Kryklia via TKO in round 1

ONE Fight Night 17 will air free live on US Primetime for Prime Video subscribers in North America