“He is my biggest problem” – Rade Opacic agrees he must first get past Iraj Azizpour to earn title shot vs. Roman Kryklia

Surging heavyweight kickboxing contender Rade Opacic’s ultimate goal is to challenge the division’s overlord Roman Kryklia for 26 pounds of gold.

However, the Serbian knockout artist knows he must pay his dues to earn his ticket and perhaps get past a massive gatekeeper.

That roadblock comes in the form of Iraj Azizpour, as they square off in a possible world title eliminator bout at ONE 165, inside Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. Opacic, who is 6-1 under the world’s largest martial arts organization, admitted he expected to be the next in line for Kryklia.

Then again, the 26-year-old headhunter acknowledges that he must first go through Azizpour, the last fighter to defeat the towering world champion.

Rade Opacic said in an exclusive interview with ONE Championship:

“Obviously, fighting for the world title is the goal after this fight. Even before this fight, I thought maybe I would get a call [to fight Roman Kryklia for the belt], but in the end, they gave me Iraj, so now he is my biggest problem.”

If the KBKS Team standout beats the Iranian bruiser, convincingly no less, then no one can deny his claim for Kryklia’s throne.

ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru will air live on Sunday, January 28, via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

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Breaking down Rade Opacic’s most recent win vs. Guto Inocente

After four straight TKO victories under the ONE banner, Opacic literally ran into a brick wall at ONE 158 back in 2022 against Guto Inocente.

The Brazilian bomber halted his hype train by way of stunning body shots that rendered him unable to continue.

Opacic was given the opportunity to right that wrong in a rematch with Inocente at ONE Fight Night 11 last year.

The aggressive Serbian certainly learned from his mistakes, as he unleashed a calm and calculated attack for three rounds to secure the dominant unanimous decision nod.