There was no shortage of electrifying action at ONE Fight Night 17: Kryklia vs. Roberts on Prime Video, which went down in U.S. primetime on December 8 from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Three athletes put on truly spectacular showings at the historic all-Muay Thai event, garnering each of them US$50,000 performance bonuses.
When the dust settled, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong had awarded bonuses to freshly crowned two-sport ONE World Champion Roman Kryklia, hard-hitting Russian Dmitry Menshikov, and British rising star Jacob Smith.
The main event saw Kryklia – already the reigning ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion – take out WBC Heavyweight Muay Thai World Champion Alex “The Viking” Roberts to claim the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Title.
After a back-and-forth first round, Kryklia secured the highlight-reel stoppage early in the second frame with a beautifully timed left hook to the jaw.
Earlier, Menshikov further solidified his status as one of Muay Thai’s most terrifying punchers with a savage first-round knockout of Moucine Chafi.
The 26-year-old’s bomb of a left hand did the job, shutting off the Moroccan-Spaniard’s lights and making his case for another shot at the ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title.
Smith picked up the first US$50,000 performance bonus of the evening thanks to his stunning knockout of #2-ranked contender Walter “Iron Hands” Goncalves in the pair’s flyweight Muay Thai showdown.
The finish came late in the first round, as the 31-year-old put together a beautiful elbow-knee combination in the clinch that sent the Brazilian crumbling to the canvas.
