“What an opportunity” – Alex Roberts thrilled at chance to vie for inaugural Muay Thai belt in ONE

Australian fighter Alex Roberts is thrilled to be given the chance to vie for the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title later this week. It is something he is looking to fully take advantage of.

‘The Viking’ will face off against ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world champion Roman Kryklia for the Muay Thai gold at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video on December 8 in Bangkok, Thailand. It serves as the headlining contest for the event, which will feature an all-Muay Thai card.

The match will mark Alex Robert’s debut in ONE Championship.

In an interview with Fight News Asia, the 34-year-old Perth native shared how he has been eyeing competing in ONE for some time now but just did not see an opening for it as Muay Thai was not made available for heavyweight fighters like him yet.

So when the opportunity was presented to him recently, he immediately grabbed on it, saying:

“I hadn't heard anything beforehand. I'm not sure if they were watching [my fights] to kind of see how it all played out. I wasn't aware if ONE was going to be putting on heavyweight Muay Thai since they hadn't ventured into the heavyweights yet, they'd only done the kickboxing."

"So we were thinking maybe we should try and move into a little bit of kickboxing as well. But then we got the call up a couple weeks ago and, you know, what an opportunity.”

Watch the interview below:

Alex Roberts won the WBC heavyweight Muay Thai world title back in October, which paved the way for him signing with ONE.

ONE Fight Night 17 will take place at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and will air free on prime time for Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Alex Roberts mindful of Roman Kryklia’s explosiveness

ONE debutant Alex Roberts knows that winning the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world title is not going to be easy, especially against an explosive opponent like Roman Kryklia of Ukraine.

The two will battle it out in the headlining contest at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video on December 8 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Speaking to onefc.com in the lead-up to the marquee match, Alex Roberts shared how he has his work cut out for him against Kryklia.

The recently minted WBC heavyweight Muay Thai world champion said:

“He is very explosive. He comes in and throws big combos. You’ve just got to really watch for that explosion. You need to be constantly moving so you don’t get hit, especially with those little gloves because it doesn’t take much.”

He, however, has made it known that he is going to be ready for whatever the ONE light heavyweight kickboxing king will throw at him just as he underscored that he is “built for the big moment.”