ONE Championship rebooks Jonathan Di Bella and Prajanchai's strawweight kickboxing title fight
ONE Championship has finally given Jonathan Di Bella and Prajanchai PK Saenchai a new date for their rescheduled strawweight kickboxing title fight. The two will face off for the vacant belt at the Asia-based martial arts promotion's next quarterly ONE Friday Fights "tentpole" card at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok next month.
ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong let the news slip during a wide-ranging interview with Sportskeeda on Thursday. He said:
"Yeah, that has been booked for June 28. We have an announcement, the next big Lumpinee tentpole. It’s a sick banger of a card. That stadium is gonna be loud, loud, loud. So Prajanchai and Jonathan will be on that, rematch for the vacant title."
Pushed for details on any more fights on the card, Chatri was tight lipped. He said:
"There’s plenty of incredible fights I can't disclose yet."
Jonathan Di Bella seeks redemption after losing ONE title on the scale
Italian-Canadian Di Bella, 27, lost his belt on the scale after failing to pass a hydration test for last month's ONE Friday Fights 58 co-main event against Thai favourite Prajanchai.
Bella took part in the official faceoffs at the fight venue but appeared pale in photos and video footage.
The former champion was then taken to hospital after feeling sick, with his father and coach Angelo Di Bella telling Sportskeeda his son was nauseous and had vomited.
The family hoped to stay in Thailand and quickly reschedule the fight against ONE's strawweight Muay Thai champion.
Chatri told media after ONE Friday Fights 58 he wanted to reschedule the fight for May 4's ONE Fight Night 22 in Bangkok.
The turnaround was too quick for Di Bella, however, whose team headed back ro Montreal and proposed fighting in June, which would have given him enough time to recover and prepare properly.
Before the fight was finally rescheduled, Angelo Di Bella told Sportskeeda their team was itching to go again. He said:
"He wasn't feeling that great going into the fight last time, he just wanted to fight. But he's ready to go now."
Chatri had initially been upset by Di Bella's weight miss, which saw him become just the third champion in ONE Championship history to be stripped of their title on the scale.
Former strawweight Muay Thai champion Smilla Sundell became the fourth last weekend. But regarding Di Bella, Chatri said last month in the aftermatch of the event:
"He missed hydration by a hair but suddenly he felt ill and was nauseous and dizzy so went to hospital to get an IV. then went back again this morning because he was still feeling dizzy and cautious. Unfortunately he lost his belt by missing hydration which is not a good situation and should be unacceptable for a world champion like Jonathan."