Roman Kryklia turns a loss into a weapon ahead of his ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title rematch

For years, the Ukrainian built an unbeaten record that made him the most feared heavyweight striker on the planet. Then Samet Agdeve walked into his promotional debut last November and took everything away from him in a single night.

Roman Kryklia now gets his rematch. The Ukrainian two-sport world champion challenges Agdeve for the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title at The Inner Circle 19 on Friday, June 19, live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kryklia had never lost in ONE Championship before Agdeve stopped his seven-year unbeaten streak via unanimous decision at ONE Fight Night 37. The 34-year-old also holds the ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Championship and the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship.

He had finished seven of his eight promotional victories before stepping into the Circle with the undefeated Turkish debutant.

Agdeve arrived at 17-0, a 21-year-old Turk with no professional losses and nothing to lose. He executed a disciplined game plan across five rounds and walked out as the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion. Kryklia, for all his credentials, had no answer for it that night.

The loss forced an honest reckoning. Kryklia did not dismiss it. He sat with it, studied it, and rebuilt.

“I’m very grateful to Samet for that clash. Despite losing that last fight, I had the opportunity to look back a lot on myself as a fighter, and it helped me change certain things in my routine,” he said.

“I [wasn’t] lacking anything, but sometimes you discover new things about yourself when you lose. This time, I will bring a much better and more dangerous version.”

Roman Kryklia is done learning from that loss and wants the belt back

Roman Kryklia wrapped up his preparation at Bangtao Muay Thai and MMA alongside longtime head coach Andrey Gridin. The Ukrainian reports his conditioning is where it needs to be ahead of what he calls a full five-round commitment.

He has also formed a clear view of Agdeve as an opponent. Kryklia does not believe the champion outclassed him. He believes the champion outplanned him.

“I think what makes him good is his strong side. But he had a good game plan from the first fight. He was ready, and his team’s strategy was good. I don’t think that he’s a top-level fighter – but this is not me trying to look down on him,” he said.

“He was just an ordinary fighter for me. I’ve seen and fought with a lot of guys like him before. He’s young, hungry, and he had that hunger, which probably made him excited to fight someone like me.

“I’m ready for all five rounds, but of course, I’m always looking for a chance to knock out my opponent. This is my skill, and I proved it in my previous fights. I can’t tell you the round. I can’t tell you the prediction. But I can tell you, this will be a war that I will win.”