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Andrew Whitelaw

Samet Agdeve walked into ONE Fight Night 37 on Saturday as one of the biggest underdogs on the card, he walked out as the new ONE Championship heavyweight kickboxing world champion.
The 21-year-old from Turkey handed Roman Kryklia his first loss in seven years, ending the Ukrainian’s impressive 15-fight winning streak via a unanimous decision while delivering a performance that has instantly reshaped the division.
There were shades of Anthony Joshua’s first fight with Andy Ruiz Jnr in this match-up, and even if this one did not feature a knockout, the parallels were there.
Agdeve arrived as an unknown to casual fans, carrying a slight paunch and none of Kryklia’s imposing aura. Kryklia looked every inch the dominant champion, and widely regarded as one of the finest heavyweights in modern kickboxing.
On paper, this was expected to be another showcase for the title-holder. Instead, combat sports produced another unexpected turn, and Agdeve became the man who halted a streak stretching back to 2018.


Agdeve’s style is raw around the edges, and his combinations lack the polish of some of the division’s elite strikers, but his skills are not in question, and where there are athletes and fighters, Agdeve is firmly the latter.
He was open about the fact that many of his instincts were sharpened not in pristine gyms but through the rough street fights he grew up around in Turkey. That grit showed throughout five demanding rounds in Bangkok.
“I came from the streets,” Agdeve said, speaking through a translator. “I have been through so many difficulties. Now I am the champion. I did this for my family and my loved ones.”
Kryklia opened the fight with his familiar pressure, stepping behind straight punches that have ended many of his previous bouts.
Agdeve remained composed, slipped outside the firing line and punished the champion’s lead leg with repeated low kicks that shifted the momentum of the contest. The damage forced Kryklia to adjust his stance and movement, taking away much of the control he usually enjoys at long range.
The fight swung briefly in round three when Kryklia came forward with clean straight punches that finally slowed Agdeve’s momentum. The Ukrainian found moments of success with his long-range striking, but Agdeve refused to step back.
Agdeve credited his team for pushing him through the hardest camp of his career, and said the win “happened because of my friends, my teammates, my brothers”.
A rematch with Kryklia seems likely, though Agdeve said he was not interested in choosing opponents.
The card also featured a strong showing from Scotland’s Nico Carrillo, who stopped Luke Lessei in the second round to continue his featherweight rise.
The win keeps him firmly in the title conversation, though he is likely to need one more bout before challenging Tawanchai.
A match-up with Shadow is a realistic next step, potentially to determine the next Muay Thai No 1 contender, especially with top-ranked Superbon currently occupied with defending his kickboxing belt.
For Agdeve, though, the night marked a breakthrough. In his first appearance on the global stage, he toppled one of the sport’s most feared champions and announced himself as the newest force in ONE’s stable.


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ONE Fight Night 37: Agdeve upends heavyweight division with shock win over Kryklia

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Samet Agdeve stuns Roman Kryklia to claim ONE Championship kickboxing crown

Samet Agdeve stuns Roman Kryklia to claim ONE Championship kickboxing crown