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Flyweight great Demetrious Johnson sees a lot of similarities between reigning ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world champion Roman Kryklia and the famous Ukrainian boxing duo, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko.
After making his mark in the world of kickboxing, claiming both the light heavyweight crown and winning the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix tournament, Kryklia will try his hand (and elbows) in the art of eight limbs this Friday night at ONE Fight Night 17.
Stepping into the main event spotlight, Kryklia will compete against ONE Championship newcomer Alex Roberts with the winner walking away as the first-ever heavyweight Muay Thai world champion.
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Speaking about Kryklia’s highly anticipated return to Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, ONE flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson likened Kryklia to some pretty big names in professional boxing.
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“Like, him being, how tall is he 6’7”? He has the body of a running back,” Johnson told SCMP MMA. “He’s absolutely amazing. [Reminds me of] the Klitschko brothers or Anthony Joshua”
Will Roman Kryklia’s dominance in kickboxing translate to Muay Thai?
Roman Kryklia’s combination of size, strength, and speed has made him perhaps the most formidable force in both the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. Making his promotional debut in 2019, Kryklia bested Tarik Khbabez to capture the inaugural light heavyweight kickboxing title. He promptly defended the title against Andrei Stoica and Murat Aygun before testing out his skills against heavyweights.
Walking through Guto Inocente and Iraj Azizpour via back-to-back knockouts, Roman Kryklia won the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix tournament.
With little left to prove, Kryklia is happy to test out his skills in the art of eight limbs against Alex Roberts, an Australian Muay Thai practitioner who is only a few short weeks removed from capturing the WBC heavyweight Muay Thai title.
Will Roman Kryklia find similar success competing in Muay Thai, or will Alex Roberts’ extensive experience in the sport be enough to leave with a ONE world title in his first promotional appearance?
Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch all the action at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video live and for free in U.S. primetime on December 8.
