Roman Kryklia calls next shot after ONE Fight Night 30 title defence

Roman Kryklia remained atop the heavyweight mountain when he defeated Lyndon Knowles by first-round knockout at ONE Fight Night 30 on April 5 in Bangkok, Thailand. 

For the Ukrainians, it was just another day at Lumpinee Stadium. 

"In the first round, I started actively, but maybe after one minute, I just made a pause, and I was waiting for a more aggressive attitude from my opponent," Kryklia said post-event. 

The finish was no surprise to Kryklia, who knew his power in 4-ounce gloves would bring a quick end as soon as he made contact with the Brit. 

"When I got him the first time, I understood that it was almost over, because [we were in] small gloves, and I felt that his defense was not perfect, and for me, it was a gift," the 33-year-old said. While he helms both the light heavyweight kickboxing and heavyweight Muay Thai divisions, Kryklia noted the biggest difference between the two. Unsurprisingly, it is the clinch game. 

The Ukrainian knows his limits and explained why he minimized his clinch exchanges. 

"I made some mistakes, and I just stopped doing everything in the clinch because I was like, keeping my power. I didn't want to be very active in the clinch and make some problems," Kryklia said. 

Coming out of the ring, Kryklia feels ready to return to action as soon as possible. He wants to defend either of his belts whenever ONE gives him the call. 

 "I'm fresh. I have no injury, and I'm ready. I know I'm in good shape, so I'm waiting for the invitation for light heavyweight or heavyweight, in kickboxing and Muay Thai," he said. 

When he does return, Kryklia wants all fans to pay attention to the thunderous power of heavyweights. 

"Stay tuned and put your attention on heavyweight," Kryklia said. 

"Give me some chances to show you my skills, because in my last fights, it did not last for more than one, two rounds. Give me some good opponents. You will see really beautiful skills in Muay Thai and kickboxing.

(2025/04/12-00:00)