“He beat two good guys” - Jonathan Di Bella expects upset-minded Rui Botelho to come at him guns blazing

After landing a couple of stunning upsets in his last two outings, Jonathan Di Bella expects Rui Botelho to come out guns blazing when they square off inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium.

On Friday, December 6, ONE Championship returns to the iconic arena in Bangkok for a loaded ONE Fight Night 26 card airing live on Amazon Prime Video in the United States and Canada.

There, Di Bella will look to climb back into the win column when he meets Portuguese standout Rui Botelho.

Speaking with Sportskeeda MMA ahead of their highly anticipated clash, Di Bella expects Botelho to come out confident and ready to bag a third-straight win on martial arts' biggest global stage.

"Yeah 100%. He's gonna be confident," Di Bella said. "You know, he beat two good guys. And he's going to be on a good confidence boost, and he's going to be ready to come at me. And he wants his title shot, too, so he's gonna come at me harder. So I'm excited for that. I'm excited for the fans that they're going to get a good fight."

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Is Rui Botelho primed to score another upset against Jonathan Di Bella at ONE Fight Night 26?

On paper, Rui Botelho's ONE Championship record leaves a lot to be desired. Overall, he's 3-6, with all six of his losses coming in the art of eight limbs.

However, Botelho has found a massive swing of momentum in his last two outings, starting with a shocking split decision victory over 'Fighting Rooster' Zhang Peimian at ONE Fight Night 16 last year.

He followed that up with his first Muay Thai victory under the ONE banner, defeating highly-touted prospect Thongpoon PK Saenchai in October.

If Botelho can earn a win over a former ONE world champion like Jonathan Di Bella, the 29-year-old scrapper could very well be in line for his first shot at 26 pounds of ONE gold.

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 26 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, December 6 in U.S. primetime.