ONE Championship: Roman Kryklia’s Top 3 Performances In The ONE Circle

Add as a preferred source on Google

After winning the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship in 2022, ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Roman Kryklia is set to make his first appearance of this year.

The Ukrainian defends his light heavyweight crown in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12 against Francesko Xhaja on Saturday, 15 July, in Bangkok, Thailand. On that day, Kryklia's undefeated run in the promotion will be thoroughly tested by his Albanian adversary.

At 5-0 in ONE, Kryklia is a force to be reckoned with, and the hard-hitting, show-stopping power he possesses is one of the many attributes that have set him apart from the rest. That said, let's take a look at Kryklia's top three performances in ONE Championship.

Tarik Khbabez: Kryklia arrived in The Home of Martial Arts on the heels of an eight-fight winning streak, and that momentum helped him enter new territory against an old foe in Tarik Khbabez for the vacant ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS in November 2019.

The contest had even more intrigue given their previous meeting four years earlier, a bout that Khbabez won by unanimous decision. In their second bout, however, things were entirely different.

Kryklia controlled round one, finding a home for his jab. A high kick and uppercut put Khbabez down, and after two more standing eight-counts, Kryklia was too much for the Moroccan to endure. At just 43 seconds into round two, the Ukrainian powerhouse was crowned king.

Murat Aygun: After extending his winning streak to 10 in a row, Kryklia met Dutch kickboxing veteran Murat Aygun at ONE: FULL CIRCLE in February 2022 with his newly attained ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title up for grabs.

This marked the Ukrainian man's third outing in ONE, but he had no issues getting comfortable inside his new battleground as he put on the most dominant performance of his career.

Kryklia's fluidity was in full motion. In fact, he used his opponent's aggressiveness against himself, and it was only a matter of time before his catastrophic right hand found a home.

Aygun may have survived the eight-count, but his night wasn't over. One more barrage of strikes from the eager champion saw Aygun fall once again with the 6-foot-7 behemoth standing tall at 2:32 of round one.

Iraj Azizpour: Out of all his wins in ONE, Kryklia's most emphatic came in the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship Final against an adversary he'd met twice before - Iraj Azizpour.

The duo were tied at one win apiece and had history dating back four years. However, the 31-year-old was determined to win the silver belt and settle his trilogy with Azizpour in style.

But after a dominant tenure, Kryklia was given a taste of his own medicine when Azizpour put him down late in the opening frame. It was the first time he'd been on the canvas in ONE, but Kryklia responded.

In the second round, the champion piled on the pressure to land a flush knee that rocked the Iranian giant for a eight-count. Then, a heavy left-right combo finished the job at 1:28 of round two.