WATCH: Roman Kryklia separates Iraj Azizpour from his senses with destructive punching power

Before Roman Kryklia was named the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix champion, he had to go through Iranian knockout artist Iraj Azizpour first.

Ukrainian kickboxer Roman Kryklia truly separated himself from his competition with a comeback KO victory against long-time rival Iraj Azizpour at ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong on November 19.

ONE Championship released a stunning clip that earned Kryklia his silver belt with the caption:

“BRUTAL finish from Roman Kryklia 😱 #RomanKryklia”

Watch the clip below:

Kryklia and Azizpour met multiple times in their careers before exchanging punches inside the ONE circle. During their Kunlun Fight tenure, they fought twice in two separate kickboxing tournaments, earning one victory apiece over each other in their epic saga.

However, at ONE 163, Kyrklia proved he’s a different type of athlete. Coming off a brutal knockdown in the first round, the Ukrainian superstar set the end in motion with a stinging right hand followed by knees to the head. Upon impact, Azizpour fell to his knees.

After having 10 seconds to recover, Kryklia stepped inside to deliver the final blow to end the fight in the second round.

Rewatch the full match below:

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Roman Kryklia calls out Serbian heavyweight and former kickboxing rival Rade Opacic next

Roman Kryklia has been dominant throughout his run in ONE Championship and he is hungry for more belts in his possession.

Since adding a silver belt to his collection last November, the current ONE light heavyweight titleholder knows exactly who he wants to challenge next for the heavyweight belt.

At the ONE 163 post-fight interview, the 31-year-old star made the following announcement:

“There’s a really good heavyweight who’s gaining momentum, Rade Opacic. I think he would be a competitive opponent for the heavyweight world title kickboxing belt.”

Croatian superstar Rade Opacic has all the qualities to make this world championship fight into a real brawl. He’s coming off a great knockout victory against Greek kickboxer Giannis Stoforidis at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee III.

Another reason why this could be the next matchup is that Opacic will have a second chance to even the score. He was defeated by the Ukrainian standout via knockout in a prior heavyweight tournament at Kunlun Fight in 2019. While it’s all speculative, a rematch between these two former foes could certainly add some intensity to a major ONE Championship event.