Roman Kryklia has been jaw-droppingly dominant in his ONE Championship run so far, but he knows he’ll have his work cut out for him in his upcoming bout. 

On Friday, December 8, the light heavyweight kickboxing king is set to face Alex Roberts for the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Championship in the main event of ONE Fight Night 17.

What does Roman Kryklia think about his opponent?

The all-Muay Thai card is slated to go down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and will be broadcast live and for free on U.S. Primetime on Prime Video for fans in North America. 

Ahead of his monumental matchup, Kryklia offered his thoughts on his opponent in an interview with ONE. 

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“He’s very experienced in Thai Boxing, unlike me. I’m a kickboxer. It will be interesting to see how much I can adapt to Thai Boxing to get into this element. He’s a tough guy. He’s a champion, too,” he said. 

Roberts recently won the WBC Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title, which led him to the world’s largest martial arts organization. “The Viking” has dreamed of showcasing his talents on a global stage, and he’ll do whatever it takes to score a win in his ONE debut. 

Not one to be intimidated, though, Kryklia believes that his striking prowess will come in handy against his Aussie foe despite their battle not taking place in his natural sport. 

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“I have an advantage in speed. I hope to stun him with some unpredictable attacks. I’m working with my coach to understand his style and what kind of combinations are best to use against him. His weaknesses are that he’s stiff and not as fast as me,” he offered. 

World Champion title on the line for the Ukrainian

Kryklia will be moving up a division in hopes of conquering a new domain and becoming ONE’s latest two-sport World Champion.

Pairing his experience with his research on Roberts, he gave his prediction on how their match is likely to play out. 

“I think that he will be trying to close the distance so he can get to a more comfortable distance for himself. He will try to not let me work from a distance, to develop more speed. He will utilize his strong legs – his left leg is especially good,” Kryklia said. 

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“Roberts will try to impose his style in close combat and will go into the clinch. I would like to work from a distance; I want to stop him from doing anything he wants, and I want to be in complete control. I would like to win with some unpredictable long-range attacks.”