“It’s very good news” – Roman Kryklia thrilled for ONE Championship’s return to Japan

Newly crowned ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world champion Roman Kryklia is thrilled to hear that ONE Championship will be making its long-awaited return to Japan in 2024.

Kryklia etched his name into the history books at ONE Fight Night 17 earlier this month, scoring an impressive second-round knockout against Australian standout Alex Roberts to claim the inaugural heavyweight Muay Thai title to achieve two-sport glory.

Following his sixth-straight win under the ONE banner, the Ukrainian athlete shared his excitement over the promotion’s recently announced return to Japan for ONE 165 on January 28.

“I think for us, it's very good news that ONE moves to other countries,” Roman Kryklia said at the ONE Fight Night 17 post-fight press event. “It's great news.”

Expected to headline ONE 165 will be a five-round kickboxing superfight for the ages as Rodtang Jitmuangnon squares off with K-1 legend Takeru Segawa.

Also announced for the event is the return of ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt who will face Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki.

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Roman Kryklia wants to work on shortcomings from ONE Fight Night 17

Despite delivering a highlight-reel performance in his return to the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Roman Kryklia knows that there is still some work to be done if he hopes to remain a two-sport ONE world champion.

“When I get lethargic, I can [still] match a lot of my opponents. But today was very slow, so it was difficult to say,” Kryklia said of his scrap at ONE Fight Night 17. “But we will analyze this fight with my coach and my team and see.”

With his win over Alex Roberts, Kryklia remained undefeated and has finished his last four opponents by way of KO. With two world titles to defend, what comes next for the Ukrainian knockout artist?

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE Fight Night 17 replay can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.