ONE Championship awards its 2022 Kickboxing Fight of the Year

ONE Championship has officially chosen its 2022 Kickboxing fight of the Year. Earning the prestigious award are Roman Kryklia and Iraj Azizpour, who battled for the ONE heavyweight kickboxing World Grand Prix championship in their third meeting.

The Ukrainian came into this fight standing as the reigning ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world titleholder. He was looking to earn glory in the heavyweight division. Meanwhile, Iranian striker Azizpour was looking to etch his name in history with a ONE Championship GP title.

These two fighters had met previously in the finals for Kunlun kickboxing tournament world championship titles. Kryklia and Azizpour won one match each and were determined to prove who the better man was in ONE Championship.

The two heavyweight kickboxers went to war against each other in 2022. Heavy-handed Iranian striker Azizpour landed bombs in the first round, stunning his towering opponent and earning a knockdown in round one.

Roman Kryklia started round two with renewed vigor and battled back with ferocity. The Ukrainian landed a strong combination and knee to earn a knockdown of his own before finishing the match with a series of punches.

It was a back-and-forth battle with both warriors having astonishing moments. Both men nearly walked away with the triumph, but at the end of the day, the light heavyweight world champion added a second ONE title to his name.

Now, this fight has been awarded ONE’s 2022 Kickboxing Fight of the Year.

See the full fight below:

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ONE Championship flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson is a fan of Roman Kryklia

Kickboxing world champion Roman Kryklia has earned fans all around the globe due to his impressive striking skills. Most notably, MMA great 'Mighty Mouse' Demetrious Johnson recently revealed that he is a huge fan of the Ukrainian kickboxer.

While speaking to Joe Rogan in an interview, Demetrious Johnson exclaimed:

“There’s a kickboxer in ONE. He’s f**king massive and he’s got a f**king six-pack, he’s got good pecs, he looks like a superhero, and he’s like bop, bop, bop, high kick, uppercut, right hand. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!’ That’s one of the things I love about ONE Championship is you get the purest form of the martial art."

Demetrious Johnson will take his inspiration back into ONE circle later this year. Like Kryklia defeating his trilogy rival, 'Mighty Mouse' will look to do the same as he battles Adriano Moraes for the third time.

With the ONE flyweight world championship on the line, Johnson and Moraes will fight in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 10 on May 5.