Jonathan Di Bella sees popularity surge after historic win over Sam-A in Saitama: “I had a lot of Japanese fans messaging me”
Jonathan Di Bella has seen his popularity surge following an impressive showing at ONE 172 in Saitama, Japan.
The Canadian-Italian star once again felt the weight of 26 pounds of gold around his waist inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena, defeating Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao to capture the ONE interim strawweight kickboxing world championship.
The win made him a ONE world titleholder for the second time in his relatively short run with the promotion.
Furthermore, the victory appears to have turned Di Bella into a global phenomenon, with Japanese fans flocking to the elite-level striker on social media with praise and support. In an interview with Nick Atkin, Di Bella said:
"Yeah, I feel like a lot of people recognize my skill level and they love me, especially in Japan, because I came out in a uniform, the Karate Gi".
"So, you know, I had a lot of Japanese fans messaging me, they were sending me emojis, texts that I had to translate. So, yeah. It definitely grew after that fight."
Jonathan Di Bella's top priority is a rematch against Prajanchai
After becoming a ONE world champion once again, the next item on Jonathan Di Bella's list is vengeance.
Last year, Di Bella suffered the first loss of his combat sports career against two-sport king Prajanchai at ONE Friday Fights 68 in Bangkok.
Since then, the Canadian-Italian has been chomping at the bit to run it back and avenge his lone defeat.
With the win over Sam-A at ONE 172, Di Bella has guaranteed himself a title unification clash with the reigning ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion and an opportunity for redemption. Di Bella said:
"As an interim champion, my first responsibility is to beat the champion. But if he wants to fight other guys, yeah, I don’t mind defending my interim title if that’s what it is".
If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.