“I just want to be a world champion” - Jonathan Di Bella says he’s only concerned with capturing world titles in his career
Jonathan Di Bella believes his only career loss could serve as the catalyst for the next chapter of his career.
The former ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion said he doesn't care about maintaining a perfect record, especially if the payoff is taking a shot at the throne he once had.
Determined to reclaim his lost gold, Di Bella will start his march to a potential world title challenge when he takes on Rui Botelho at the stacked ONE Fight Night 26 card on December 6 at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.
In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the Italian-Canadian star said he was never afraid to put his then-perfect record on the line as long as he could work his way to world champion status.
Jonathan Di Bella said:
"I always fought tough fighters, and I always went to risk my record, but I never really cared about the record. I don't care if I have a loss on my card. I just want to be world champion."
Di Bella had one of the best debuts in ONE Championship history when he took down Chinese phenom Zhang Peimian at ONE 162 in Kuala Lumpur for the vacant ONE strawweight kickboxing world title.
After a successful world title defense against Danial Williams, Di Bella bumped his professional record to 12-0 but couldn't find the luck for a 13th straight win.
Di Bella relinquished the ONE strawweight kickboxing world title to Thai star Prajanchai PK Saenchai in a tight contest at ONE Friday Fights 68 in June this year.
ONE Fight Night 26 is ONE Championship's final Amazon card of the year and is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Jonathan Di Bella says losing a perfect record couldn't compare to losing his world title
Jonathan Di Bella said that maintaining a perfect record wasn't the goal in his career, but holding on to a world title is.
The 28-year-old was devastated when he lost the ONE strawweight kickboxing world title in a close contest against Prajanchai PK Saenchai, and he said relinquishing the gold stung harder than watching his perfect record get blemished.
He told Sportskeeda MMA:
"I never wanted to be undefeated. It was never my thing to think about being undefeated. I always wanted to like just fight."