WATCH: Roman Kryklia zeroes in with calculated focus in world title defense against Andrei Stoica

Modified Dec 08, 2023 17:13 GMT

Roman Kryklia (left) and Kryklia punching Andrei Stoica (right)

The first world title defense of reigning ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world champion Roman Kryklia went down in December 2020 at ONE: Collision Course inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium against Andrei Stoica.

Before his upcoming fight with Alex Roberts in the main event of ONE Fight Night 17 on December 8, which will happen inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, for the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title, ONE Championship posted one sequence of his fight with Stoica.

They captioned the video with:

“Roman Kryklia is CALCULATED 🤓 Can the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion become a two-sport king by claiming the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title this Friday at ONE Fight Night 17 on @primevideo? 🏆 @romankryklia”

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In the video, the Gridin Gym representative used every inch of his length advantage against his much shorter opponent to throw a lethal combination of a kick, punch, and knee strike. The 6-foot-7 Kryklia eventually claimed the unanimous decision victory to successfully defend his world championship belt.

Kryklia became the inaugural world champion of the division by stopping Tarik Khbabez in the second round of their world title match in November 2019 at ONE: Age of Dragons.

Roman Kryklia wants to become a two-sport world champion with a win against Alex Roberts

Kryklia’s opportunity to become the newest member of ONE Championship’s exclusive club of two-sport world champions will finally happen in the main event of ONE Fight Night 17 as he takes on Alex Roberts for the ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title.

It will not be an easy task to do because the Australian is the newly minted WBC heavyweight Muay Thai world champion. Even Kryklia himself admitted that Roberts is a big challenge for him because of his sheer power and size.

ONE Fight Night 17: Kryklia vs. Roberts on Prime Video goes down on December 8 at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The entire card will air live in US primetime free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America.

About the author

Anatoly is an MMA writer with six years of experience. He covers ONE Championship at Sportskeeda, where he has contributed over 1000 pieces. He previously served as the lead MMA writer for BetMGM’s blog.

Anatoly holds a bachelor's degree in communication, which he feels has had a significant impact on his career.

Jon Jones’ submission win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 in 2011 got him hooked to MMA. His favorite fighters include Eduard Folayang, Demetrious Johnson, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Anatoly provides Sportskeeda with exclusive pieces and has previously interviewed the former ONE flyweight MMA world champion, Adriano Moraes. While writing his pieces, he follows an extensive research process, referring only to credible sources like the UFC’s official website, Sherdog, and ESPN. He also likes to provide insights to his readers by keeping in mind important pillars of communication like media literacy and audience dynamics.

Anatoly advocates for a healthy and fit lifestyle by including boxing in his routine. He also loves to travel.

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Edited by Taimoor Malik