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

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.