“I knew he was gonna be tough” - Jonathan Di Bella says Sam-A made him work extra hard in world title triumph at ONE 172

Jonathan Di Bella always knew that fighting Sam-A would be no easy task.

Heading to the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Japan, Di Bella delivered another standout performance and secured the biggest win of his ONE run so far, defeating Sam-A to claim the ONE interim strawweight kickboxing world championship.

Moments after claiming his second world title on martial arts' biggest global stage, Di Bella was joined by longtime ONE color commentator Mitch Chilson in the ring.

During their conversation, Di Bella had nothing but positive things to say about his opponent, calling Sam-A a "legend" of the sport:

"I knew he was gonna be tough because those last two fights he fought two top guys," Di Bella said. "But what a legend."

With the win, Di Bella improved his overall record to 13-1 and has now won back-to-back bouts. Next, the Canadian-Italian kickboxer will likely try to avenge his lone loss, running back his ONE Friday Fights 68 scrap with two-sport king Prajanchai.

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Jonathan Di Bella admits it was hard to fight Sam-A at ONE 172

Appearing at the ONE 172 post-fight press conference, Jonathan Di Bella continued to heap praise on the Thai superstar, adding that competing against one of his all-time favorite fighters was much harder than expected:

"Man, fighting a legend like that was hard," Di Bella admitted. "He’s one of my favorite fighters, so it was kinda hard fighting him. But you know, when you step in the ring, it’s all business, and I gotta put that aside.

"I trained very hard for him, and it was hard to fight one of your favorite fighters, but in the ring, I took it all, like everything comes out of there, and it was all business."

If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.