"I was surprised that he was that good" - Jonathan Di Bella admits he may have underestimated Prajanchai in world title loss

Jonathan Di Bella begins his comeback trail on his return to action at ONE Fight Night 26 following a tough year.

Ending 2024 with a win will be a big moment for the former world champion, who can look to send a message to the rest of the division.

Earlier this year, a significant battle with illness led to Di Bella being stripped of his strawweight kickboxing world champion after he failed to make weight for his second title defense.

His fight was postponed and rescheduled for ONE Friday Fights 68, wherein one of the biggest striking bouts of the year, he faced off with strawweight Muay Thai world champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai for the gold.

Jonathan Di Bella came out on the wrong side of a very close fight that many believe he deserved to win.

Ahead of his next outing, he reflected on that fight in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA where he said that despite rating his opponent highly, PK Saenchai surprised him:

"I was surprised that he was that good, you know. I knew that he was good, I knew that he was gonna be a tough fight, and he was one of the best in the world. So I was excited to fight him. I always wanted to fight him in his hometown."

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Jonathan Di Bella won't make the same mistake twice

Jonathan Di Bella wants the belt back. To do that, he would need to return to the win column on his return to Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 6.

He will face off with Portugal's Rui Botelho in a huge fight for the division that might see the winner get the next shot at the world champion.

Di Bella is just as hungry as before and though Prajanchai and the belt are his main focuses, he's looking to use this next fight to take a step closer to them.