Roman Kryklia Vs. Murat Aygun: 4 Keys To Kickboxing World Title Victory
After several postponements, reigning king Roman Kryklia and hungry challenger Murat Aygun will finally square off for the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title.
The pair will battle in the co-main event of ONE: FULL CIRCLE this Friday, 25 February, and their vastly different styles will make for an intriguing clash at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Here, we break down the keys to victory for both Kryklia and Aygun ahead of their colossal clash in “The Lion City.”
#1 Kryklia’s Long-Range Arsenal
At 200 centimeters tall (6-foot-6), Kryklia will look to capitalize on his height and reach advantages over Aygun – most notably a 24-centimeter difference in wingspan.
The Ukrainian utilizes excellent footwork and rarely stays planted in one spot, which will stop “The Butcher” from closing in on him.
Furthermore, Kryklia has an assertive jab and hard straight punches that make the most of his long arms, and he’ll look to accumulate damage from outside his foe’s range, maximizing his chances of hitting without getting hit.
Even if he’s outside of punching range, the champ’s spider-like legs can still find their marks on the legs and body, with almost no chance of Aygun being able to fill the distance with his hands.
Finally, competing in the Circle instead of a ring will give the Gridin Gym representative more space to work with, adding to his list of advantages.
#2 Aygun’s Faith In His Chin To Close The Distance
For his part, Aygun possesses an incredible chin and a willingness to take a shot to give a shot.
The Dutch-Turkish slugger will have to constantly pressure forward on Kryklia to keep the World Champion’s volume at bay, as operating in any other range would work to his disadvantage.
“The Butcher” will have to accept that he’ll receive some strikes to get inside, but fortunately, his battle-tested whiskers give him that option.
Once the SB Gym man works his way in close, he can unleash his rapid punching combinations to score as much as possible while things are in his favor. If close-range encounters are rare, he’ll have to make the most of them.
Aygun fires well with multiple punches, mixing things up to the head and body, and often punctuating these combinations with low kicks as a final stamp for the judges to evaluate.
#3 Kryklia’s Waiting Weapons
Kryklia deals with pressure well, and he’ll be waiting for Aygun’s marauding offense with strikes of his own.
The defending titleholder has faith in his own chin and will tee up punches and knees as “The Butcher” tries to get inside his range. He likes to time the advances of his rivals and slam in hard uppercuts when they try to swarm him.
As Aygun inevitably opens up to wade forward with overhands and hooks, Kryklia will try to use that space to deliver crunching knees to the body and head.
This will give the shorter challenger a lot to think about when he attempts to traverse the distance, and the more he second-guesses those entries, the more Kryklia will be able to get out of the way or counter.
#4 Aygun’s Head Movement And Counters
If Aygun can’t make pure aggression work, or if he’s suffering too much when he tries to shut Kryklia down, he’ll have to rely on his head movement and counters to find a winning shot.
And if the Ukrainian gets comfortable and starts to land, there’s always a chance he’ll overextend and leave himself open to “The Butcher’s” replies.
With a plodding style of movement, Aygun is always ready to fire with power, as his feet rarely leave the ground for long. That means he can counter with power at any time.
The challenger has an effective lean-back that could make Kryklia miss, so he can fire back with his right hand. Aygun’s slips and rolls serve the same purpose – trying to make the champ hit air, opening up a counter opportunity with hooks.
