Jonathan Di Bella hopes for return of Giorgio Petrosyan: “I want to see him back and finish his career on top”

There are very few fighters who other fighters look up to, but there’s certainly no doubt legendary Italian-Armenian kickboxer ‘The Doctor’ Giorgio Petrosyan is one of them.

He’s been often referred to as the ‘Michael Jordan of kickboxing’, and rightfully so. Petrosyan dominated the sport for a lengthy period, and seemed to be on his way to even more global prestige when he joined ONE Championship in April of 2018, winning the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix in October of 2019 and taking home the $1 million prize.

Unfortunately, his incredible streak came to a screeching halt when he met Thai superstar Superbon Singha Mawynn at ONE: First Strike in October of 2021. In that fight, Superbon unleashed a destructive high kick that exploded on impact, and turned the lights out on Petrosyan instantly. It was one of the most brutal knockouts in ONE Championship history.

Petrosyan has not returned to action since then, and there have been rumors that he was not doing so well mentally, with ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong even saying that Petrosyan had been having trouble sleeping, and having nightmares about the ordeal.

That being said, there’s no telling whether or not Petrosyan will be back in action to resume his career. But one man seems to think so – reigning ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion, and fellow Italian Jonathan Di Bella.

Speaking in a recent interview with South China Morning Post on YouTube, Di Bella said he believes we will see a grand Petrosyan comeback.

Di Bella said:

“Yeah, so good. Man, I think he [will come back]. Yeah, yeah. I want to see him back and finish his career on top. And yeah, I want him to finish.”

Meanwhile, Di Bella makes his own return, when he puts his belt on the line against multi-sport phenom ‘Mini T’ Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 15: Tawanchai vs. Superbon on Prime Video.

The event broadcasts live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, October 6.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action free on Amazon Prime Video.