ONE Championship: 'Kickboxing's Usyk' Roman Kryklia beaten in heavyweight title fight as Scotsman Nico Carrillo victorious
Samet Agdeve maintained his unbeaten record, moving to 18-0, with a unanimous decision victory over Roman Kryklia; Scotland's Nico Carrillo moved into the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title with victory over tricky American Luke Lessei
Saturday 8 November 2025 10:48, UK
Undefeated Turkish kickboxer Samet Agdeve defeated Ukrainian heavyweight Roman Kryklia to win the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title on Saturday morning.
The 21-year-old made his ONE Championship debut in the main event of ONE Fight Night 37 in Bangkok, Thailand, and managed to defeat Kryklia - unbeaten in seven years coming into the fight - by unanimous decision.
Kryklia, six foot six inches tall and 240lbs and with designs on being the Oleksandr Usyk of kickboxing, started off the better of the two fighters in the Thai capital and showcased brilliant footwork in the early stages to get into range, land shots, and drop back out before Agdeve could effectively land blows of his own.
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The Turkish athlete had trouble finding his distance early and couldn't connect with any of his fight-ending head kicks and Kryklia evaded skilfully, then instantly retaliated with punches, kicks to the body and legs, and even a knee to the skull.
Agdeve, though, shook off the shots, kept his composure and slowly closed the distance, before picking away with his jab, left hook, and calf kicks to the Ukranian's lead leg.
As the bout continued deeper into the second and the third rounds, Agdeve's calf kick became his most valuable weapon. A welt the size of a baseball developed on Kryklia's leg, which eventually slowed him down, took some of his power away, and forced him to switch from orthodox to southpaw.
That opened up extra possibilities for Agdeve, who went on the offensive and started tagging the Ukrainian with body shots, hook punches to the head, and even high kicks to the ribs and chin.
The Turkish phenom's confidence grew in the championship rounds, as he put the 34-year-old on the back foot, absorbed his offensive attacks, and continued to successfully pick away at him.
By the time the final bell sounded, Agdeve had made Kryklia look human. The three ringside judges agreed, awarding him the unanimous decision victory to move his perfect record to 18-0 and crowning him the first-ever ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion.
Scottish featherweight Muay Thai star Carrillo moves into title conversation
Scotsman Nico Carrillo moved into the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title conversation with a second-round stoppage of American star Luke "The Chef" Lessei.
The "King of the North", the number four-ranked contender, had to survive an early scare in the opening round, though.
Carrillo went hunting for an early finish, walking his rival down and throwing monstrous punches but the tricky American shelled up, threw close-range elbows, and slammed low kicks into the Scot's lead leg, eventually forcing him to switch from orthodox stance to southpaw.
But the 27-year-old from the Scotstoun area of Glasgow is gaining experience and confidence and seven months after finishing the legendary Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, the Scottish powerhouse repeated the trick against Lessei.
The fight turned when he had Lessei against the ropes, landing a right hook to the temple in the closing moments of the first round to drop his foe for a standing eight-count.
Carrillo continued marching ahead with his overwhelming forward pressure in the second frame. The American was constantly defending and countering off the back foot, but he could only defend for so long against the Scot's firepower.
The "King of the North" eventually cornered him, rocked him with a right cross, threw several clinch knees to the head, and unloaded a few more right hands before the referee stopped the match.
With the victory, Carrillo moved his professional record to 29-4 and, with his reputation as one of the most powerful hitters in the sport underlined once again, he will have his eyes now set on the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title belt held by Thailand's Tawanchai PK Saenchai.
