Roman Kryklia is set to return to ONE Championship’s light heavyweight kickboxing division to defend his World Title against a new challenger. The Ukrainian striker will face Albania’s Francesko Xhaja in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12, which is scheduled for July 14, at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and will broadcast live and for free on Prime Video for fans in North America. 

Kryklia has been flawless in his run in ONE since he claimed the inaugural ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title against Tarik Khbabez in his debut in 2019.

Roman Kryklia had a blazing previous year with superb performances

He has successfully defended the coveted strap twice and added more gold to his collection as he continues to ascend into rarified air at the Singapore-based promotion.

After his latest defense of the light heavyweight kickboxing crown – a one-round demolition of Murat Aygun in February 2022 – Kryklia moved up a division to participate in the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship. 

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He carried over his speed and power to perfection throughout the illustrious competition, stopping hard-hitting Brazilian star Guto Inocente in the first round before moving on to take out former rival Iraj Azizpour and win the Grand Prix title with a devastating second-round knockout. Those three dominant wins last year led to him being named ONE’s 2022 Muay Thai/Kickboxing Athlete of the Year.

Francesco Xhaja will pose a significant threat to Roman Krykila’s championship reign

Kryklia may stand atop the two heaviest divisions in ONE’s kickboxing realms, but he certainly has a wealth of talent nipping at his heels – and Xhaja has some of the most dangerous teeth to do just that.

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The Albanian striker is on an impressive run of his own, having won four of his last five bouts across various promotions, and he is coming off a huge win over former ONE World Title challenger Andrei Stoica earlier this year. 

“Smile” will undoubtedly be out to bring a decisive end to Kryklia’s reign when they meet at ONE Fight Night 12, so fans should expect a nailbiter to go down in this headlining bout. More bouts are expected to be added to the card in the coming days.