“He’s had plenty of experience” – Alex Roberts believes Roman Kryklia won’t have any problems adjusting to Muay Thai rules

ONE Championship newcomer Alex Roberts believes his ONE Fight Night 17 opponent, Roman Kryklia, will do just fine in his move from kickboxing to Muay Thai.

On December 8, Kryklia, the promotion’s current light heavyweight kickboxing champion, will trade in his eight-ounce gloves for a pair of four-ounce ones as he looks to become ONE Championship’s latest two-sport titleholder.

Challenging Kryklia for the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title will be promotional debutant Alex Roberts.

Speaking with Fight News Australia about his highly anticipated debut inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Roberts suggested that Kryklia won’t run into any trouble transitioning from kickboxing to the art of eight limbs.

“I don't believe so. I think one of the previous people told me that he started in Muay Thai and boxing originally I think when he was about 17. So he knows the ruleset. He's had plenty of experience there when he was younger and, you know, I'm sure he's really looking forward to the opportunity to throw some elbows because he's, you know, a big tall guy. Raining some elbows down sure is going to be very fun.”

Alex Roberts looks to score a massive upset against Roman Kryklia in Bangkok

While most fight fans won’t be familiar with Alex Roberts’ work in the world of combat sports, his resume certainly speaks for itself.

In October, ‘The Viking’ captured the WBC heavyweight Muay Thai world title. Next, he’ll try to add 26 pounds of gold to his collection.

Of course, that’ll be easier said than done when he meets a fighter who has yet to suffer defeat under the ONE Championship banner.

Through five appearances with the promotion, Kryklia carries an undefeated record and an 80% finish rate, with highlight-reel knockouts over Andrei Stoica, Guto Inocente and Iraj Azizpour.

Will Roman Kryklia add another big win to his already-impressive record or will Alex Roberts score a massive upset in his ONE debut?

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video live and for free in U.S. primetime on December 8.