It wasn’t Alex Roberts’ night at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand this weekend.
“The Viking” fought bravely in the ONE Fight Night 17 main event on December 9, but ultimately succumbed by knockout in the second round against light heavyweight kickboxing king Roman Kryklia.
The towering Ukrainian became the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world champion with the win, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
Kryklia sent Roberts to the canvas with a flash knockdown in the early exchanges of the fight, but the 32 walked back to his stool on wobbly legs at the end of the round after his Australian foe landed a hard elbow.
But Kryklia came out firing the second, as a two-punch combination sent Roberts crashing to the canvas just 25 seconds into the frame. The referee waved off the contest instantly.
Kryklia took home a US$50,000 performance bonus to go with his two 26-pound gold belts, courtesy of ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Roberts gave a good account of himself in his promotional debut for as long as it lasted. The Perth native falls to 14-4 overall and saw this four-fight win streak that culminated in a WBC Muay Thai world title snapped.
Kryklia improved to 50-7 and extended his winning run to 14-fights dating back to 2018.
The all-Muay Thai card delivered seven knockouts from eight fights overall. The one fight that went the distance was an instant classic between featherweight Muay Thai contender “Smokin Jo Nattawut and American newcomer Luke Lessei.
British star Jacob Smith and Russian knockout artist Dmitry Menshikov were the other performance bonus winners for their first-round finishes.
ONE Fight Night 17 Full Results
- ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title: Roman Kryklia defeated Alex Roberts via knockout (left hook) R2, 0:25
- Featherweight Muay Thai: Jo Nattawut defeated Luke Lessei via unanimous decision
- Catchweight (151.75lb) Muay Thai: Mohamed Younes Rabah defeated Saemapetch Fairtex via knockout (punches) R1, 2:29
- Lightweight Muay Thai: Dmitry Menshikov defeated Mouhcine Chafi via knockout (left hook) R1, 1:59
- Flyweight Muay Thai: Jacob Smith defeated Walter Goncalves via knockout (knee to the body) R1, 2:54
- Catchweight (141lb) Muay Thai: Johan Ghazali defeated Edgar Tabares via knockout (body punch) R1, 0:36
- Catchweight (139.75lb) Muay Thai: Denis Puric defeated Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat via knockout (left hook) R2, 1:35
- Catchweight (132.25lb) Muay Thai: Ellis Badr Barboza defeated Thongpoon PK Saenchai via knockout (body punch) R3, 2:21
