Jonathan Di Bella believes his annihilation of Rui Botelho should be enough to earn him a rematch against reigning strawweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai.
The former strawweight kickboxing king didn't mess around the upset-minded Botelho, as he beat up the Portuguese slugger from start to finish en route to a decisive unanimous decision win at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6.
Di Bella already proved that he doesn't mind climbing up the ladder for the chance to avenge the only loss of his career.
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While initially shocked that he didn't get an outright rematch against Prajanchai, the 28-year-old tactician gladly accepted his first non-title bout under the ONE banner and passed the test with flying colors.
Now, Jonathan Di Bella thinks a do-over with the two-sport champ is the next fight to make:
"Yeah, man, I want the rematch, of course," he said in his ONE Fight Night 26 post-event interview.
However, the Team Di Bella kickboxing star revealed he would still entertain a possible world title eliminator bout against a right opponent. He added:
"But whoever Chatri [Sityodtong] wants to give me, I'll take anybody, whoever ONE wants to give me. I'll take anybody. But of course, if there's a rematch, I’ll fight him for sure."
Jonathan Di Bella was all gas no brakes against Rui Botelho
We're used to seeing Jonathan Di Bella employ a conservative approach in his five-round battles in the home of martial arts. The Italian-Canadian slugger, after all, is a brilliant counterpuncher who prefers to let the fight come to him by exploiting his opponents' mistakes.
However, against Botelho, we saw how Di Bella can still remain technically savvy while being aggressive in a three-round bout.
The 28-year-old footwork was exemplary, as he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.
More importantly, Jonathan Di Bella had loads of fun out there and it definitely showed in his remarkable performance.
The full replay of ONE Fight Night 26 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.