Alex Roberts Preparing For “Carnage” In ONE Friday Fights 72 Return

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Former WBC Heavyweight Muay Thai World Champion Alex Roberts' promotional debut last December didn't get off to the start he had hoped for. But in his return this Friday, 26 July, at ONE Friday Fights 72, the Australian star wants to reintroduce himself to fans with a destructive output.

"The Viking" meets Beybulat Isaev in an explosive light heavyweight Muay Thai clash that's not expected to see all three rounds inside Bangkok, Thailand's Lumpinee Stadium, live in Asia primetime.

In his debut at ONE Fight Night 17, Roberts challenged for the inaugural ONE Light Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title against Roman Kryklia. Despite coming up short, he says he learned plenty from locking up with the Ukrainian great. And he plans to use those lessons to get back to winning ways this Friday.

"[Roman] is amazing, so fast. For someone that size to move as well as he does. That was something else. The range that he's got as well. He can just hit you when you don't think you can get hit. It was an experience to fight someone on that level," Roberts said.

"It was a great fight, and it showed that I'm on the [same] level as well. Things can happen, and I've had plenty of time to recover and regroup. I've been working on that head movement and defense a little bit more now in the little gloves, adapting things so we're ready to get in there again."

In the land of giants, it only takes one punch to end it all. That holds even more truth when those same behemoths are competing in Muay Thai in 4-ounce gloves.

At 6-foot-4, they don't come much bigger than Roberts. And this Friday, "The Viking" is determined to make quick work of Isaev, inject himself back into the World Title picture and capture the attention of Kryklia once more.

"I think his hands are the biggest danger, particularly when you add the hands with little gloves," Roberts said.

"I think a win puts me right back at the top since Isaev has been there for a while. Then we can just keep building a run back to Roman [Kryklia]. I'm going to be throwing a lot of elbows, trying to put on a show and get some blood involved. It's going to be carnage, and we're going to get a stoppage win."