ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles Preview and Predictions

Later this week, ONE Championship returns to Lumpinee Stadium in Thailand, following the epic ONE 172 event in Japan. Saturday’s fight card, ONE Fight Night 30, is quietly one of the best since the promotion started their partnership with Amazon Prime Video.

In the main event, two-sport heavyweight world champion Roman Kryklia returns to defend his Muay Thai throne. The Ukrainian powerhouse will face promotional newcomer Lyndon Knowles, a former three-time WBC heavyweight champion.

As for the co-main event, Regian Eersel and Alexis Nicolas are scheduled to settle their series in a lightweight kickboxing trilogy world title bout. Eersel regained his strap in the rematch and now looks to take out Nicolas once again.

ONE Fight Night 30 also features the featherweight Muay Thai debut of Nico Carrillo. The Scottish striker will face the number four-ranked Sitthichai.

ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles airs live on Amazon Prime Video starting at 8 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at the preview and predictions for the event.

Roman Kryklia has won his last three fights by knockout; can he make it four in a row and stop WBC Muay Thai Champion Lyndon Knowles?

Roman Kryklia is undoubtedly the greatest heavyweight striker in ONE Championship history. The promotion is known for their depth of talent in the lighter weight classes, giving Kryklia few options to defend his Muay Thai and kickboxing world title.

ONE became creative and signed Lyndon Knowles, a 38-year-old former WBC champion who doesn’t know how to produce a boring fight. Knowles might look familiar to ONE fans due to his pink hat that’s been showcased while cornering Jonathan Haggerty.

Knowles is a fun signing for ONE. The reality is he only has a puncher’s chance against Kryklia. The two-sport king’s distance management and footwork make him an awful stylistic matchup for Knowles. Kryklia should win by first or second-round knockout.

The co-main event is a trilogy bout between Regian Eersel and Alexis Nicolas; which feared striker will score a victory and earn bragging rights?

Few people who weren’t connected to Alexis Nicolas would have predicted he’d defeat Regian Eersel. Yet, the Frenchman pulled off the upset win before his title reign was quickly ended in the rematch against Eersel.

At ONE Fight Night 30, Nicolas looks to prove his win against Eersel wasn’t a fluke, potentially manufactured by Eersel’s complacency with success.

Nicolas did a phenomenal job of utilizing his kicks in the first fight. Eersel made the adjustments in the rematch to ensure his long, fundamental punches would be a difference-maker.

Eersel learned a lot from his first fight against Nicolas, and his competitive fire was reignited. ‘The Immortal’ remains one of the most talented strikers on the planet, so he should be able to end his series with Nicolas by securing another unanimous decision win.

Nico Carrillo moves up to featherweight to take on Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong; how does the Scottish fighter fare up a division?

Nico Carrillo seemed destined to become the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion. Following a 4-0 promotional start, all knockouts, Carrillo suffered a first-round knockout loss against Nabil Anane for the interim title, which he credited to a bad weight cut.

The Scottish striker quickly announced his move up to featherweight. He will have a massive opportunity to prove his world-title potential in the division, as Sitthichai is an experienced and dangerous Muay Thai striker.

Sitthichai is older by seven years and maintains a sizable experience advantage. One of Carrillo’s best weapons was his size advantage at bantamweight, making it intriguing to see if his striking skills hold up at featherweight.

The decreased weight cut and need to prove the doubters wrong should help Carrillo make a statement with a unanimous decision win.

Which fight is the sleeper match-up on this card?

The sleeper matchup is a catchweight Muay Thai bout between Seksan and Asa Ten Pow.

The reason to watch this fight shouldn’t need much explaining. Seksan is a legend in Muay Thai and continues to produce action-packed wars. The 36-year-old is coming off wins against Liam Harrison and Soe Lin Oo and now looks to take out the unpredictable Asa Ten Pow.

Asa has done a phenomenal job of helping American Muay Thai grow on the ONE Championship platform. The 35-year-old holds a 2-2 promotional record, with every fight being entertaining. He has the perfect opponent to produce another must-see fight.