Roman Kryklia Vs. Francesko Xhaja To Headline ONE Fight Night 12

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Two striking titans will collide in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12 when Roman Kryklia looks to defend his untouchable ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship against a dangerous veteran.

Kryklia meets Françesko Xhaja in Bangkok, Thailand's mecca of combat sports, Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, on Saturday, 15 July, for his third title defense. The bout is expected to end within the distance given the power possessed by both behemoths.

Since arriving in ONE, Kryklia has been a dominant force to be reckoned with, having dispatched every competitor placed in front of him in destructive fashion, only going the distance once.

The Ukrainian has registered knockouts against fellow gargantuans Tarik Khbabez and Murat Aygun at light heavyweight to assert his dominance as king of the division, as well as outstriking Andrei Stoica over the course of five rounds to earn the unanimous decision win.

Having perfectly dominated ONE's light heavyweight kickboxing realm, Kryklia took his talents to the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix, and his punching power didn't falter against much larger opposition.

Kryklia picked apart kickboxing veteran Guto Inocente in the semifinals back at ONE 161 in September 2022, shutting him down inside the opening frame with a thunderous high kick to stamp his ticket to the final.

Two months later at ONE 163, Kryklia bested his fierce rival in Iraj Azizpour, stopping the Iranian giant in the second stanza of their trilogy bout to win the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix and capture the illustrious silver belt to boot.

Now, the towering Ukrainian returns to the light heavyweight realm with plans to keep his unbeaten run thriving when he meets Xhaja next month, but the challenger awaiting him will be as confident as ever having also notched a victory in his return to the division.

The Albanian-Italian tried his luck in the heavyweight division one year ago against Rade Opacic in a daring move. However, it wasn't to be, ultimately seeing him return to his home in light heavyweight kickboxing.

Xhaja was last seen in competition at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II in February, defeating promotional mainstay Stoica over the course of three rounds by unanimous decision to assert himself back in the weight bracket and earn a World Title opportunity in doing so.

"Smile" has never shied away from taking on the best adversaries throughout his career, and in one month's time, Xhaja could be smiling brighter than ever if he can overcome the seemingly immovable force in Kryklia and take home gold in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12.

Source: Media Release