“Making kickboxing big in America” - Jonathan Di Bella says ONE 172 will give the striking arts more recognition in the US

Former undisputed ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella of Canada and Italy hopes his sport will hit the mainstream in the United States, much the way boxing, or even MMA, has captured audiences.

Di Bella is one of the best kickboxers in the world, pound-for-pound, but the 28-year-old from Montreal, Quebec, feels his sport lacks the recognition as other mainstream martial arts disciplines.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Di Bella says his next fight should get fans riled up, and being that it's on such a stacked card, it should draw in even more eyeballs than normal.

The Team Di Bella Kickboxing representative told the world's largest martial arts organization:

"This is a start to that. This is one of the biggest cards ever. Especially if I get a win, this is a start to making kickboxing big in America because I’m one of the only North American fighters on the card."

Di Bella added:

"Hopefully after this big win, I get on the USA cards. I just got to give more exciting performances and then we start."

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Jonathan Di Bella returns to face Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao for interim belt at ONE 172 in Japan

Jonathan Di Bella will finally get the chance to reclaim what he lost when he takes on Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao.

The two strawweight elites are ready to throw down for the ONE interim strawweight kickboxing world title at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang, which is set to broadcast live from the iconic Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, this Sunday, March 23.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live via global pay-per-view by visiting watch.onefc.com.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding the event as it happens.