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A pair of colossal strikers will throw down in the main event of ONE Fight Night 30 on Prime Video, as reigning two-sport king Roman Kryklia puts his ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title on the line against British knockout artist Lyndon Knowles at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
That matchup will air live in U.S. primetime this Friday, April 4, and pits two of the planet’s heaviest hitters against each other.
In one corner, Kryklia has cemented himself as a dominant force across both kickboxing and Muay Thai, and he’ll come into this contest riding an incredible winning streak that dates back to 2018.
He’ll have his hands full with “Knowlesy,” a WBC Muay Thai World Champion who has long been regarded as the UK’s top heavyweight Muay Thai fighter.
Before these behemoths square off for 26 pounds of gold in Bangkok, we break down each man’s biggest keys to victory.
#1 Knowles’ Show-Stopping Overhand Right
Knowles is a supremely well-rounded fighter who is dangerous with a wide variety of strikes, but his single most dangerous weapon against Kryklia will likely be his thunderous overhand right.
The challenger will be giving up 7 inches of height to the towering Ukrainian, so straight punches to the head will be difficult to land. Instead, look for Knowles to pepper Kryklia with body shots to bring down his guard before unloading a massive overhand right.
That punch has been one of the Brit’s most reliable strikes throughout his career, and it might be his best path to victory against the titleholder.
#2 Kryklia’s Terrifying Knee Strikes
As usual, Kryklia will hold a significant height and reach advantage, making his devastating knee strikes the perfect counter to an overhand right.
The heavyweight Muay Thai king knows that Knowles will need to press forward and close the distance. With that in mind, Kryklia can attempt to stop that pressure with big knee strikes up the middle to both the head and the body.
Every time “Knowlesy” presses forward or drops his head, look for Kryklia to fire away with knees as he racks up valuable damage points and hunts for the finish.
#3 Knowles’ Dangerous Clinch Game
While Kryklia is well-schooled in “the art of eight limbs,” he has spent the vast majority of his career competing in kickboxing, where no clinch is allowed.
The clinch is where longtime Muay Thai practitioner Knowles is likely to hold a serious advantage. He has surely studied Kryklia’s World Title-winning performance against Alex Roberts, in which the Ukrainian showed moments of weakness in the clinch, appearing susceptible to elbow and knee strikes in close.
For his part, Knowles is a powerful and vicious clinch fighter. If he can close the distance and control his adversary in close, he might just hand the two-sport World Champion his first defeat in nearly seven years.
#4 Kryklia’s Crispy Boxing
Kryklia has employed his beautiful long-range boxing combinations to reach the top of the striking world. To stay there, he’ll need to once again lean on his versatile boxing game.
The 33-year-old is most dangerous when he’s controlling the distance with a thudding jab and unleashing multi-punch combinations to keep his foe on the defensive. Wearing smaller 4-ounce gloves used in ONE Muay Thai, these combinations are incredibly difficult to defend against.
Fans should look forward to seeing more of Kryklia’s top-flight boxing and concussive punching power at ONE Fight Night 30.