Danial Williams is laser-focused on beating Rui Botelho and making a statement

‘Mini-T’ Danial Williams is hoping he scores a victory next Friday or loses his chance to potentially fight for the championship belt.

Over the past few months, Williams has been telling fans that he wants to become the first-ever three-sport world champion. The Thai-Australian slugger is looking to gain the momentum to back it up.

In MMA, ‘Mini-T’ earned three straight wins in the strawweight division to climb to No. 5. Unfortunately, his impressive winning streak came to an abrupt end when he lost by knockout to Jeremy Miado at ONE on Prime Video 3 last October.

Despite all that, ONE Championship superstars, including ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri and kickboxing king Jonathan Di Bella, are interested in fighting Williams if he gets his next win in Muay Thai.

With all that added pressure on his shoulders, Danial Williams is therefore laser-focused on beating his Portuguese rival, Rui Botelho, in a heroic fashion.

Speaking to ONE, he said:

“You can't look past the next fight too much because it means nothing if I don't do well against Rui. So it's just tunnel vision right now. Before the Rui match, I was like, ‘Yeah, Jonathan Di Bella. All of this and that.’ But now it's like, I actually got a match now. I have to prove myself, because I’m coming off a loss in the last fight, even though it's a different sport.”

He continued to add:

“My focus on Rui is like 100 per cent right now. And I'm watching his fights, working on my game plan, and I need to win this fight. Otherwise, it's really backwards for me for that title shot.”

ONE Fight Night 8 will be broadcast live and for free in North America via Prime Video on Friday, March 24.

---

Jon Di Bella says Danial Williams always “comes to fight, he doesn’t come to play”

Indeed, if Danial Williams scores a win in Muay Thai next week, a lot more doors will open for him.

For his part, Italian-Canadian kickboxing sensation Jon Di Bella is excited by the prospect of fighting Williams for his first world-title defense. The Perth athlete, after all, has an impressive background in the striking arts.

Speaking to SCMP MMA, Di Bella said:

“A few guys are calling me out, including Danial Williams, and that would be a good fight. I like that he comes to fight, he doesn’t come to play. That’s what I want. He has a lot more experience than me in kickboxing and Muay Thai, and he’s been winning. I think he deserves a shot, for sure.”

However, the route to success for Williams is easier said than done. He will face a tough challenge from Rui Botelho, a former European kickboxing champion.

With both men looking to bounce back into the winning column, expect nothing but fireworks coming from the two athletes.