ONE Fight Night 12: Kryklia-Xhaja Off, Superlek-Khalilov To Headline July 14 bill

ONE Fight Night 12 has been bolstered with a new main event between Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Tagir Khalilov on Friday, July 14.

This comes after Francesko Xhaja withdrew from his title bout against light heavyweight kickboxing king Roman Kryklia, the initial headliner battle inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

As a result, the contest between the towering monsters will be rebooked for another date.

That aside, Superlek will continue his quest for two-sport glory against Khalilov in under two weeks.

The flyweight Muay Thai showdown will be the ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion’s fourth fight of the year – and we’re only just into Q3 of 2023.

The 27-year-old started his year with two back-to-back world title victories against Daniel Puertas and Danial Williams within 70 days, a dominant decision against the Spaniard and knocking the Australian-Thai athlete when he returned inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Then, at ONE Friday Fights 22, the feared striker began his Muay Thai world title journey with a first-round destruction of Nabil Anane inside the legendary venue on June 23.

Should he outclass Khalilov in the Thai capital next, ‘The Kicking Machine’ could solidify his position as the #1-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender.

However, the Kiatmoo9 Gym representative isn’t eying Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s gold. Instead, he wants to use his wins in ‘the art of eight limbs’ to push himself to Jonathan Haggerty’s bantamweight Muay Thai crown.

A fourth straight win under the ONE Championship spotlight could propel him to that goal.

As he enjoys a banner year thus far in 2023, there doesn’t seem to be anybody that could stop Superlek.

It is up to Khalilov to prove otherwise at ONE Fight Night 12, which will air live and for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.