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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
John Morgan, MMA Underground

ONE Fight Night 12 to Feature Roman Kryklia, Francesko Xhaja

Roman Kryklia will put his ONE Championship light heavyweight kickboxing title on the line in the main event of ONE Fight Night 12.

After recently claiming victory in the promotion's heavyweight grand prix, Kryklia now returns to light heavyweight to defend his belt against challenger Francesko Xhaja at the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Sports Illustrated recently confirmed the booking with promotion officials, who said the title fight will serve as the main event of the card, which streams live on Amazon Prime Video in North American primetime on Friday, July 15.

Ukraine's Kryklia (49–7) claimed ONE's inaugural light heavyweight kickboxing title in 2019 and has successfully defended the belt twice. Most recently, the 6-foot-7 knockout artist moved up to the heavyweight division and scored a pair of TKO finishes to claim a grand prix title, as well, remaining unbeaten for the past five years.

Meanwhile, Xhaja (18–4) was in action most recently in February, scoring a decision win over former title challenger Andrei Stoica to earn this opportunity. The Italian-Albanian will attempt to capture the title in just his third appearance for the promotion.

Additional matchups for the event are expected to be announced shortly.

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