"Talking bad about my espresso" - Jonathan Di Bella says Rui Botelho's unwarranted comments sparked heated post-fight standoff

At ONE Fight Night 26, Jonathan Di Bella stayed in control for the entire duration of his bout at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The former ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion got his hand raised when fighting over three rounds for the first time in ONE Championship. With a masterclass performance of pace and pressure, he totally shut down Rui Botelho and kept his opponent one step behind him at all times.

It was a confident, creative and loose performance from Jonathan Di Bella, who appeared to settle into a groove right from the opening bell. However, despite his composed performance, tensions boiled over once the final bell sounded as the two men shared a heated exchange.

There were some words exchanged back-and-forth but, fortunately, the confrontation was diffused before anything got out of hand.

During his interview inside the ring with Mitch Chilson once he got his name read out in the win column, Di Bella explained why they nearly came to blows once the fight had already ended.

If there's one thing that the former champion takes more seriously than kickboxing it's his brand of coffee, and after Botelho made a few sharp comments, Di Bella bit back at him:

"He was talking a bit after the fight, talking bad about my espresso, but after this I'm gonna enjoy my espresso. Di Bella Espresso, baby, let's go!"

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Jonathan Di Bella advances on to his ultimate goal

You wouldn't have been able to tell from the way that he performed but there was a lot at stake for Jonathan Di Bella in this fight.

The former champion believes he deserved a straight rematch with Prajanchai following their meeting in June, which he was not granted.

With Rui Botelho coming off of back-to-back wins, the Portuguese contender had a good chance of derailing Di Bella's plans.

The Italian-Canadian can now look to get his hands back on the gold after putting on a great display on Dec. 6.