The Inner Circle 19 Co-Main Event Result: Roman Kryklia Earns Redemption, Claims Heavyweight Kickboxing Gold
Two-sport, two-division ONE World Champion Roman Kryklia had redemption on his mind when he stepped into Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium for his rematch against Samet “The King” Agdeve in the co-main event of The Inner Circle 19 on Friday, June 19.
In the end, the Ukrainian left with exactly the goals he aimed to achieve – avenging his only ONE Championship blemish and claiming the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title.
Kryklia, the ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai and Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion, put on a five-round striking masterclass to hand the Turkish bruiser his first career loss via unanimous decision.
Getting there was not straightforward, though. Agdeve stuck to the same tactics that helped him overcome the 6-foot-7 skyscraper last November, as he found a home for his crippling calf kicks. For a moment, he had everyone inside Lumpinee Stadium and watching around the globe on live.onefc.com wondering if history was about to repeat itself.
The Turkish athlete, who trains out of AllStars Germany, forced Kryklia into reverse gear and minimized his offense with heavy haymakers. Round one belonged entirely to “The King,” and he kept his momentum going into the early goings of the second frame.
However, Kryklia soon established his rhythm behind a jab. From there, the Ukrainian tower mixed his points of attack. He connected with hard shots to the midsection, went head-hunting with kicks, and landed clean straight punches and crosses whenever Agdeve left himself exposed.
Action only intensified when the third stanza resumed. Kryklia unloaded with bad intentions, hurting his rival with jabs down the pipe. The 34-year-old giant continued switching stances to set up his punches, which made it near-impossible for Agdeve to land his calf kicks.
The 22-year-old Turk then decided to attack with his hands, but that tactic only allowed the Ukrainian challenger to rock him with a right hook. Kryklia pushed his foe onto the ropes with big combinations, landing every shot imaginable, including a right that grazed his opponent’s chin at the end of the frame.
Agdeve knew he needed something big to turn the tide in round four. He went all out in search of it, but Kryklia had an answer to everything. When the Turkish juggernaut dropped his guard, the Champ Belts representative went high. And when “The King” protected his face, the Ukrainian went low.
Another massive high kick stunned “The King” once more with only 90 seconds left in the canto. Though Kryklia didn’t find the money shot to put his foe away, he dished out another three minutes of striking excellence in the fifth and final round.
Kryklia touched his adversary up whenever he closed the distance. His head movement forced the defending titleholder to miss, all while switching from orthodox to southpaw and connecting more blows. Agdeve threw a final Hail Mary in the dying seconds of the battle, but the 6-foot-7 superstar hung tough as the final bell sounded.
When the dust settled, the judges were unanimous. Kryklia had delivered one of the best and most complete performances of his career, and now, he adds the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship belt to his jaw-dropping collection of gold.
