"I believe I won" - Jonathan Di Bella offers honest thoughts on first career loss to Prajanchai

Former ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella gave an intriguing insight into his thoughts after suffering the first defeat of his career to Prajanchai PK Saenchai at ONE Friday Fights 68 in June.

Speaking exclusively with Sportskeeda MMA, Di Bella shared:

"Yes, I was. Of course, I was surprised, 100 percent. I was surprised because I believe I won but like I always have in the back of my mind, I'm in his hometown. I'm in his country. So yeah, I had a feeling and always thought about it like they were gonna give it to him. But it was close fight."

Fresh off his first defense of the ONE strawweight kickboxing world championship in October 2023, Di Bella sought to repeat the feat against Prajanchai, who also holds the strawweight Muay Thai crown, at ONE Friday Fights 58 this past April.

However, Di Bella was stripped of the crown for failing the pre-fight hydration test and later rushed to the hospital. He ultimately chose not to compete at the event.

The fight was rescheduled to ONE Friday Fights 68, where Prajanchai thoroughly outclassed him throughout the five-round world title tilt to claim his second ONE world championship.

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Jonathan Di Bella will compete at ONE Fight Night 26

Jonathan Di Bella's road to challenging Prajanchai for the 125-pound kickboxing world championship begins anew at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6, which will take place inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Team Di Bella Kickboxing product's opponent will be Brazilian standout Rui Botelho, who is on an impressive hot streak after defeating Zhang Peimian and Thongpoon PK Saenchai in back-to-back outings.

ONE Fight Night 26 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.