ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix final announced for ONE 163 co-main event

Bengaluru, October 31: The Singapore Indoor Stadium will play host to the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Final when Roman Kryklia takes on Iraj Azizpour in the co-main event of ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong on November 19.

ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Kryklia meets Azizpour for the third time overall, with their first two meetings split 1-1 prior to them signing with ONE. The duo will get to settle their trilogy on the biggest stage of all with the tournament's silver belt on the line.

Kryklia moved up to heavyweight at ONE 161 in September for the Grand Prix semifinals after a three-fight run at light heavyweight, where he won the inaugural ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title.

The Ukrainian extended his winning run to four and booked his place in the finals, knocking out Brazilian veteran Guto Inocente just 52 seconds into the first round in the Grand Prix semis.

Kryklia has remained undefeated since his defeat to Azizpour in their first meeting back in 2018.

Azizpour booked his place in the final on the same night, taking a dominant decision win over Brazil's Bruno Chaves. With the win, the 34-year-old improved to 3-0 in the Circle, following a decision win over Anderson Silva and a TKO win over Dutchman Ismael Londt.

Azizpour also has not tasted defeat since his last encounter with Kryklia back in 2019.

Previously announced matches for the card include a main event tussle for the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title, as champion Hiroki Akimoto puts his belt on the line against dangerous Thai Petchtanong Petchfergus.

The rest of the card is littered with big names, including Myanmar superstar Aung La N Sang and Japanese legends Yushin Okami and Shinya Aoki.

ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong Main Card

1. ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship Bout: Hiroki Akimoto (c) vs. Petchtanong Petchfergus

2. ONE Heavyweight Grand Prix Final: Roman Kryklia vs. Iraj Azizpour

3. Middleweight Bout: Yushin Okami vs. Aung La N Sang

4. Atomweight Bout: Itsuki Hirata vs. Ham Seo Hee

5. Lightweight Bout: Shinya Aoki vs. Saygid Izagakhmaev

6. Flyweight Bout: Yuya Wakamatsu vs. Woo Sung Hoon