Iraj Azizpour will face Roman Kryklia in a trilogy bout at ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong. The event takes place on Saturday, November 19 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Iraj Azizpour’s rivalry with Roman Krykila
This bout will be the final of the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing Grand Prix. Krykila, who’s the reigning ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing champion will once again square off against the Iranian fighter.
Both of them hold victories over each other. The rivalry is at tie 1 – 1, with previous fights taking place outside the promotion back in 2018 and 2019.
The trilogy bout was scheduled for last October, but the Ukrainian had to withdraw due to health issues. Now it will finally take place with a victor also winning the entire tournament.
Iraj Azizpour and Roman Kryklia’s ways to the final
Both fighters secured their spots in the tournament back in September at ONE 161.
Azizpour fought Bruno Chaves. He faced some thought opposition from the Brazilian. However, he managed to overcome it and started to put pressure on his opponent. Next, he faced another Brazilian, Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva. The unanimous decision victory improved the Iranian’s ONE Championship balance to 3 – 0. Finally, he knocked out Ismael Londt and made his way to the finals.
On the other hand, Krykila faced another Brazilian representative, Guto Inocente. The Ukrainian knocked him out in just 52 seconds and put a stop to his two-fight winning streak. He did that with a combination of a right punch followed by a high kick, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
Krykila is undefeated since his loss to Iraj Azizpour back in 2018. Now he rides a twelve-fight winning streak. That includes three wins in One Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title matchups.
If the Iranian fighter will be victorious on November 19, he will get his first taste of ONE Championship gold. If the opposite will happen, Krykila will ad the tournament’s silver belt to his gold light heavyweight strap.
