ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Roman Kryklia is ready to make history.
The Ukrainian heavy-hitter looks to get his second belt in a different sport – and weight class – when he takes on Alex Roberts for the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE Fight Night 17 this Saturday morning, 9 December, inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The mammoth heavyweight showdown will highlight ONE Championship’s all striking Fight Night card – a testament to just how massive the striking arts have grown under the promotion’s banner.
“To be a champion in two sports and in two divisions, I think it’s the dream of every fighter in the world,” Kryklia said.
Against Roberts, Kryklia will have to make some adjustments, especially because he’s been focused on kickboxing.
Kryklia, however, is unfettered, knowing that he’s been punching and kicking people for a living for most of his life, so he expects the transition to come easily.
After all, Muay Thai is where he got his start, and it would only be fitting for him to make history by winning a Muay Thai World Title in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
“I don’t care what people think, that I don’t have many fights in Muay Thai. I know this is a big part of my life and a big part of my training process, so we will see,” he said.
“I know this victory will be very special for me because it will be my first title in Muay Thai. And it’s very important for me to be the champion because I started in Muay Thai, and this was my dream at the beginning of my career.”
In his five fights in The Home of Martial Arts, Kryklia has finished all but one of his opponents, with his last three wins coming within two rounds.
But don’t let that fool you, Kryklia insists that he’s conditioned enough to go the full five rounds if needed, but those are the magic words – if needed.
“I don’t like to wait in the ring,” he said. “I like to be very aggressive, but I am always ready for all five rounds. So nobody knows how my fight will finish, even me.”