“I like facing guys with an aggressive attitude” - Roman Kryklia welcomes Murat Aygun challenge

Roman Kryklia is fully confident that he will outshine Murat ‘The Butcher’ Aygun in their co-main event fight at ONE: Heavy Hitters on Friday, January 14.

Ahead of his ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world title defense at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the 30-year-old told ONE Championship that his 33-year-old foe will be no match for him.

“I have studied him, but having said that, I think I won’t face any problems. I like facing guys with an aggressive attitude who keep pressing forward. It’s only good for me. I’m ready for it.”

The towering Ukrainian striker has completely analyzed his Dutch-Turkish challenger, having prepared for this bout once before. The clas was originally scheduled for October last year.

After their initial clash got called off, ONE offered him a fight against Iraj Azizpour for the inaugural ONE heavyweight kickboxing world title later that month. However, Roman Kryklia was forced to withdraw from that bout.

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Roman Kryklia feels ‘The Butcher’ is a predictable fighter

With nothing in the way of his third appearance in the circle, Roman Kryklia is sure he will earn yet another dominant victory under the ONE Super Series banner.

Kryklia, who started training in martial arts when he was only six years old, believes he is familiar with Aygun’s fight style. He has defeated several fighters with similar traits and feels this fight against ‘The Butcher’ will be no different.

“Murat Aygun is quite an aggressive fighter who strikes in combinations with his arms and legs, a classic Dutch school of kickboxing...[He does] nothing unpredictable. This is exactly what you can expect from him — going forward and hitting inside his distance. All this is predictable for me. I’m ready for his course of action.”

With slightly over two weeks to go until his second world title defense, Roman Kryklia seems to be in good spirits to be able to leave the circle with his 46th career win. Aygun is not an easy opponent, but the Ukrainian star knows he has all the tools needed to defend his golden strap again.

Roman Kryklia earned the golden strap during his promotional debut at ONE: Age Of Dragons in November 2019. He defeated Tarik Khbabez to become the inaugural ONE light heavyweight kickboxing world champion.