Danial Williams says victory over Rui Botelho puts him in line to challenge Joseph Lasiri

Australian striker Danial Williams is looking at his upcoming fight not only as his return to Muay Thai but also as a possible springboard for a world title shot.

“Mini T” will joust with Portuguese fighter Rui Botelho in a featured strawweight encounter at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video on March 24 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It will mark his recoil to Muay Thai after spending his last four fights in mixed martial arts.

While he has an impressive 3-1 record in MMA, Danial Williams believes now is a good time to fight again in Muay Thai with the kind of setup under ONE Championship. He is also keenly eyeing the strawweight title currently held by Joseph Lasiri of Italy.

He shared in an interview with the promotion:

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, there's just not much action happening that I've noticed of the other strawweights in the division. Saying that, many Thais are coming out now in every Friday Fights show. There are more fights for me in the division, but I think Joseph is keen as well.”

Danial Williams added:

“I think a win over him (Botelho) would put me up there. I'm deserving of a shot. I've always said this because we've all been around the block … I just feel that I can jump straight back in there at that top level.”

While he is excited by the many possibilities in the event of a win in his next fight, “Mini T” is not getting ahead of himself. In fact, he is expecting a tough challenge from Botelho, who is looking to finally catch a break in his ONE journey five years into it.

“He [Botelho] has been around the block for a long time. It's not going to be an easy fight. I feel like he's on that bridge that if he loses this, it's going to be really hard for him to bounce back. I just think he's going to be a really hard fight.”

The Botelho fight will be Williams’ first Muay Thai contest since his clash with ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in his promotional debut in April 2021.

All ONE Fight Night events are broadcast live and for free in North America via Prime Video.

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Danial Williams returns to Muay Thai to face Rui Botelho at ONE Fight Night 8

After four straight mixed martial arts matches, Australian fighter Danial Williams will return to Muay Thai for his next match later this month.

'Mini T' will take on Rui Botelho of Portugal in a featured strawweight showdown at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video. The event is set for March 24 in Singapore.

The contest will be Williams’ first Muay Thai fight since he figured in an absolute war against ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon in his promotional debut in April 2021.

While he has not competed in the Muay Thai lane for a while, the Scrappy MMA affiliate always knew he would return to the sport every now and then. That is in line with his push to earn multiple world titles in various combat sports disciplines.

When news of his next fight against Rui Botelho reached him, Danial Williams immediately went to work, making a trip to Thailand to train at Kao Sok Muay Thai to dust off the rust. He has since continued his training back home and feels he is steadily getting to the form he wants to be in.