r/MuayThai • u/Ok-Walk7881 • 1d ago
Highlights What a stupid, pointless, waste of time.
Knowles got brutally knocked out, Kryklia got to spend a year and a half on the bench for not even a round of competition, and unless this was the final fight on his contract, that'll likely be what happens again.
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u/Element202 1d ago
Kryklia woke up, grabbed some mma shorts cuz he didn’t want to take the effort to find Muay Thai shorts and showed up to the stadium.
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
Why even bother when this is your competition? Like, respect to Knowles, but he had no business being in the ring with Roman.
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u/going_dot_global 1d ago
Knowles is a legend way beyond his prime fighting in small gloves. Was sad to see and a bit unnecessary. Especially seeing how Kryklia just ran through him.
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u/Harold-The-Barrel 1d ago
Welcome to heavyweight Muay Thai I guess
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
Kryklia looked bored and frustrated for this whole fight. He genuinely seemed to feel bad after the TKO. Like, I think that apology in the interview was genuine.
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u/Harold-The-Barrel 1d ago
Tbh I thought it was kinda funny after the second knockdown.
“Oh, it’s not over? Ok”
throws cross
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u/CowsRetro 1d ago
Wow put a beating on that guy
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u/Peterthepiperomg 1d ago
How much did the gentleman who was knocked out get paid?
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u/Brief_Koala_7297 1d ago
That’s HW damage we are talking about. You cant pay me a million to go through a life altering ass whoooping like that
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u/DonaldDuck2012 1d ago
He needs to sign with the big boys over at Glory. One's biggest issue is their roster is all 135lbs Muay Thai fighters.
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u/Pretend_Vegetable495 1d ago
Knowles went to the shadow realm and back, just to meet Jesus after the final punch
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u/PoggySenis 1d ago
Damn…the pink Mohawk makes it look like a comedy show.
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u/BambooVender 1d ago
Basically, a Ukrainian giant just beating the shit out of some pink haired dumbass lol 😂 . Looked like wwf
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u/adammx125 1d ago
You know Knowles was no 1 ranked WBC and multiple time WBC heavyweight champion, coached by his brother Christian Knowles (Haggerty and Nolan’s coach also). Just because he got beaten doesn’t make him a dumbass, he’s still one of the best heavyweight Thai boxers in the world.
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u/MarcusAurelius1815 1d ago
If he is considered still considered one of the best HW Thai boxers in the world then that's a damning indictment of the division.
Knowles offered no resistance, it was like a farang challenging an actual fighter after he has downed several beers.
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u/Neither-Assignment16 1d ago
Yeaaa, HW muay thai is like 10 times worse than hw kickboxing. Always has been too.
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u/Brief_Koala_7297 1d ago
HW MMA fighters are probably better Muay Thai fighters than some ranked Muay Thai fighters and that’s saying a lot considering HW is already extremely shallow outside the top 5
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u/adammx125 1d ago
People have bad days, bad fights and bat matchups. Heavyweight Thai is also quite a shallow talent pool. He’s still top ten in the world as per every rankings list available.
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u/Flat-Breadfruit 19h ago edited 18h ago
Anyone who was capable of being objective immediately recognized he didn't belong in there with Kryklia. Almost all the big kick fighters worth a damn go into kickboxing. Had Knowles been a top ten heavyweight kickboxer then it's a different story.
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u/ilyasark 1d ago
a bad day? mf looks like he got in the ring cause his father knows the owner lmao if that's a top 10 in the world fighter than muay thai has the weakest scene in all the fighting scenes
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u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 1d ago
Thats was far from bad day, he looked like complete beginner. Very embarrassing stuff. If he spent more time fighting and not looking a clown, I think he may have faired better.
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u/adammx125 1d ago
Spent more time fighting? Every org has in as top 5 in the world 😂
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u/Ordinary_Bend_8612 1d ago
Very sad state of affairs if this guy is top 5 in any org. Say more about the current state of heavy weight Muay Thai, sad. just look at his conditioning
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u/adammx125 1d ago
the fight didn’t get out the first round how can you comment on his conditioning?
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u/BambooVender 21h ago
Dude had some of the worst technique I’ve ever seen for somebody in a professional fight. Also just had a chubby bubble gut.
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
Saying someone is the "Best Heavyweight Thai Boxer" doesn't really mean much, considering how non-existent Heavyweight Muay Thai is, in terms of actual talent.
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u/adammx125 1d ago
So the pool is shallow therefore Kryklia should just fight nobody?
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
No, ONE should release him. But they won't. They'll just let him rot for another year and a half until they're contractually obligated to give him another fight. Then they'll probably dredge up Lyndon's brother.
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u/PoggySenis 1d ago
With all due respect, In my opinion It doesn’t really require a sharp eye to see who was going to be the victor here.
The height difference, and the difference in mass is…massive.
There’s no way that Knowles would be able to match the speed of the Ukrainian guy.
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u/adammx125 1d ago
I’m fully aware, but kryklia needed someone to fight and Knowles on paper is the highest ranked most deserving opponent for a title. There aren’t really any better matchups to make, even if this one isn’t exactly great either.
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u/marcdel_ 17h ago
hey leave his hair out of it! i like the hot pink 🥺
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u/Urmomzfavmilkman 1d ago
Doesnt help that his whole strategy seemed to be built on imitating a punching bag (both in terms of action and conditioning)
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u/BambooVender 1d ago
I know this is mean to say, but holy shit that was terrible. Knowles looked amateurish even on the bags before the fight. There was no way he was going to beat this guy. He looked hilariously out of shape, had horrible technique and just was slow and didn’t even follow through sometimes with his punches fully.
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u/Ordinary_Fennel_8311 1d ago
Goddam. I don't really follow One MT is there no one in the org even close to this guys level? Certainly seems that way.
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
No. There is not. It doesn't help that Heavyweight Muay Thai is effectively non-existent, in terms of having a deep talent pool.
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u/Ordinary_Fennel_8311 1d ago
Yeah makes sense. Fighting in 4oz gloves is wild for dude's this size.
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u/Justinreinsma 1d ago
Azizpour hrs a great match with him but he got messed up too. I would like to see them rub it can again but maybe glory would have better competition for kryklia?
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u/freakyfreda 7h ago
Muay Thai has no real heavy weight competition because all the big guys have to go kickboxing or mma .
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u/quadsimota 1d ago
Lmfao the ref...no no, come knock him down one more time to be certain he's finished
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u/hydraides 1d ago
😂🤣 knock some sense into him so he actually does some proper training for the next fight.
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u/quadsimota 1d ago
Haha he was nice about it. Just a little boop at the end to finish it. But yea...ick
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u/AlBones7 1d ago
This says a lot about the standard of heavyweight Muay Thai. If Knowles has been the WBC champion then the competition must be dreadful because he looked unfit and struggled to put together even a basic defence of single strikes
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u/stretchy_palendrome 1d ago
Exactly. Knowles put up no defense. Yeah, he’s going against someone clearly bigger (maybe stronger?) than him. But he didn’t even put up any fight.
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u/StonedStengthBeast 1d ago
My girl was like “his mouth piece just flew out”. Pride level freak mismatch. Put Ngannou in there or something.
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u/Ok-Evidence2137 21h ago
Kryklia is wasted in HW Muay Thai, there is none to fight him. Knowles is or was number one for a long time.
In Thailand HW fights are treated like freakshow events, there is basically no organization that regularly offers HW Muay Thai fights on their events. If the average height for the new generations in Thailand goes up exponentially upwards and the Thai public is actually interested in it that might change, but that is nothing but a pipedream at this time.
Most heavier Thais go straight into coaching and HW foreigners usually go for Kickboxing or MMA since there is more money.
Kryklia could have some great matchups in Glory but I doubt Chatri wants to let his HW champ go just because of the optics.
My dream is having a somewhat competitive Middleweight Division in Muay Thai but even that is very unlikely in the near future.
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u/emil_ 1d ago
I thought Olivier Coste was a decent ref, but that was a very shitty decision especially at this weight class...
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u/Chapstick_Yuzu 1d ago
What decision? Real question.
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u/venomlocke 1d ago
Feels like just because you're WBC champ, doesn't mean shit lol
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
It doesn't, really. At the very least, it's not an indicator by itself that you're an elite of Muay Thai. Edgar Tabares was a WBC Muay Thai champion, and he hasn't picked up a single win in ONE.
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u/TheHarlemHellfighter 1d ago
I’m just saying, the way Knowles looked made me feel like I have a chance
😂
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u/Onyx_Sentinel Knee Enthusiast 1d ago
knowles looked like a bag of beans man, kryklia could've made that even shorter if he wanted to.
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u/Weyland-Yutani-2099 20h ago
One minute into the fight and everything from no set up kicks to combinations land on target....that was rough to watch.
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u/Jerseyfemur 1d ago edited 1d ago
Calling a heavyweight ONE championship fight with two elite athletes stupid and pointless is a rude and uneducated statement. So many couch fans on reddit talking shit when they probably haven't even stepped over the ropes themselves, or know the hard work and sacrifices it takes to get to such a level.
Regardless of his performance, Knowles is an extremely high level fighter, WBC title holder. I'd be more embarrassed posting shit on reddit than getting KOd in a ONE fight
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
No, it was absolutely stupid and pointless. Knowles had no business being in there with Kryklia at this point in his career, posed zero threat, and got sent to Hell for an amount of money that I am absolutely certain was not worth it. Whatever respect you have for Knowles as a fighter, as a coach, or even as a person, this was a stupid, pointless, waste of time, as the title says.
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u/BambooVender 18h ago
You can criticize something without doing it. Example- movie critics. They don’t have to direct a film to make a criticism. Not sure why people get so bent out of shape to call something as it is. Could anyone do any better in this sub group against the giant Ukrainian dude? Fuck no! But still, it was what it was. It was just an insanely bad pairing. Reach should absolutely be regulated like weight.
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u/TheBookIRead77 1d ago
It’s not a stupid, pointless waste of time for ONE Championship. This is their business model. Short, scrappy knockouts designed to be shared on social media for millions of views. It looks silly, but here we are sharing the videos and talking about the fights. That’s money in the bank for ONE Championship.
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
Well their "business model" doesn't exactly seem to be working out for them, considering the hundreds of millions of dollars of debt they currently have. And they're wasting years of these guys' careers trying to dig themselves out of the hole they've dug. Kryklia was on the bench for over a year because they have no one for him to fight. So yes, this was absolutely a stupid, pointless, waste of time.
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u/TheBookIRead77 1d ago
I don’t disagree that it’s a waste of many fighters’ careers, especially given the low pay for most athletes, and the elevated risk of injury. I’m also not saying it’s a winning business model overall, but most startups do begin with debt, so it’s not too surprising. Regardless of the content, more views = more revenue. That’s all I’m saying.
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u/Sure_Yellow_2754 1d ago
As of March of this year, Knowles was the #1 contender to a vacant WBC heavyweight title- Kryklia was #3.
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u/TaftsTummyforTaxes 1d ago
New suggestion. If the champ doesn’t have a legit contender; bring in a bunch of bums to fight. The champion then fights a ladder of “bum contenders” and gets a small prize for each one he beats. The contender who beats the champ wins the whole pot. But every contender the champ beats, the pot gets smaller.
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u/NecothaHound 11h ago
Knowels should really shred and fight a couple of weight classes down, though its clear One has no one to send against Kriklya at this point.
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u/Duckysawus 18h ago
What was the point? The moment you saw Knowles' belly jiggle it was already over.
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u/ManIDontEvenKnowWhy 1d ago
Kryklia prefers this than fighting the best Heavyweights in the world in Glory it seems.
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
He doesn't prefer it, it's what he's forced to do. He spent a year and a half on the bench because ONE refused to give him fights, either because they have no one for him, or they can't pay him. Just look at his face afterwards, he's frustrated and angry, and I can't blame him.
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u/bluebicycle13 1d ago
it just show how much WBC is over hyped
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u/weightsnwine 19h ago
It's almost like One isn't real Muay Thai. The tiny gloves, no real clinch.
Knowles is past it and took this for a pay day and fair play to him for doing it but I've been hit by people in MMA gloves and it's fucking horrible.
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u/Infamous_Letter_7008 1d ago
Why? May you explain
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u/Ok-Walk7881 1d ago
Kryklia was defending a meaningless belt in a non-existent division against a guy who had no business being in the ring with him. ONE are desperately trying to keep hold of Kryklia, even though they have absolutely no one for him to fight.
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u/Able_Following4818 8h ago
Forgive me for my lack of knowledge on this subject. But the ON events always seem packed. Are they not making any gate money? No YouTube money from the commercials for Friday Fights? Or is it that their production costs are too high?
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u/Ok-Walk7881 36m ago
They probably make some money from YouTube, but they have millions of dollars of debt already. And yeah, most of the people in Lumpinee have their tickets comped, since no one really cares.
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u/humansRinsignificant 23h ago
Well, thats like rodtang vs the jap guy, forgot his name. Takeru was it? Same quick finish
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u/BambooVender 21h ago
Takeru was nothing like this fight. He actually got some hits in on rodtang and is actually really good
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u/DarkySurrounding 1d ago
Hey I was entertained for the whole two minutes that lasted. Realistically though does ONE have a Heavyweight division left to feed to Kryklia?