ONE Championship will continue to elevate the sport of Muay Thai right up to the end of 2023.
On Friday, Dec. 8, ONE Fight Night 17 will offer an all-Muay Thai card live in U.S. primetime via Prime Video, and the star-studded event is set to be headlined by a battle for the inaugural ONE heavyweight Muay Thai world championship, per Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso.
ONE light heavyweight kickboxing champion and ONE heavyweight kickboxing World Grand Prix champion Roman Kryklia will don the four-ounce gloves and welcome Australia’s Alex Roberts to ONE in the thrilling showdown, and the prospect of the Ukrainian star becoming a two-sport titleholder excites ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
“ONE Championship allows our athletes to become multi-sport world champions simultaneously,” he told Sports Illustrated.
“Roman is the best heavyweight kickboxer on the planet today, and now he’s stepping into an entirely different rule set. That’s the beauty of our platform, and it’s also a testament to his greatness.”
The event is already confirmed to have six additional bouts featuring some of the best and brightest strikers on the planet.
“Smokin” Jo Nattawut will take on Iowa’s Luke Lessei in a featherweight Muay Thai showdown, and American teen phenom Johan Ghazali will meet Mexico’s Edgar Tabares – amongst a slew of other exciting battles.
The card is sure to produce fireworks, and Sityodtong is promising fans they will see huge knockouts on Dec. 8.
North American audiences have greatly enjoyed ONE’s push to promote Muay Thai this year.
At ONE Fight Night 10 – the organization’s U.S. on-ground debut show – in May, flyweight king Rodtang Jitmuangnon got some of the loudest cheers of the night, and the sold-out crowd exploded when American striking star Jackie Buntan scored a first-round knockout in the opening fight of the main card.
ONE Fight Night 17 will undoubtedly continue that upward trend with a night full of Muay Thai chaos inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
ONE Fight Night 17 airs free on Prime Video on Friday, Dec. 8, for all Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada. The action begins at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST.