"That's my next goal" - Jonathan Di Bella wants in on ONE Championship's upcoming events in Denver and Atlanta
ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella will defend his throne against fellow ONE Championship king Prajanchai PK Saenchai at ONE Friday Fights 58 on April 5.
Prajanchai, who currently holds the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world title, will challenge Di Bella in a five-round bout with the hopes of becoming a two-sport world champion.
Prajanchai will be Di Bella's second world title defense in ONE Championship, his first being Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 15 in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2023.
Though his last two bouts were in Asia, most of Di Bella's bouts took place in North America, particularly in New York City, his adoptive hometown. In an interview with 4oz to Freedom on YouTube, the Italian-Canadian striker expressed his interest in fighting in the US again, under the ONE Championship banner:
"Yeah 100 percent. That's my next goal, I win, if I, well, when I win on April 5, I'm going to defend my title then I'll go defend the title- the fight will be either in Denver or Atlanta for sure."
He continued:
"I haven't fought in the States since my last show. My last fight in the States was about four years ago. It was, yeah, 2019. At the garden at a Lou Neglia event."
Watch the full interview here:
Catch Jonathan Di Bella in action at ONE Friday Fights 58, available free on all of ONE Championship's digital platforms (YouTube, Facebook, and watch.onefc.com)
ONE Championship has two confirmed live events on US soil in 2024: ONE Fight Night 26 and ONE Fight Night 28
As mentioned by Jonathan Di Bella, ONE has two confirmed events happening on US soil this year, ONE Fight Night 26 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, and ONE Fight Night 28 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
ONE Fight Night 26 will be ONE Championship's return to Colorado state, the first one being their US debut, ONE Fight Night 10, in May last year.
As far as debuts in the US are concerned, ONE Fight Night 10 met and surpassed expectations. The triple main event included Mikey Musumeci defending his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title and Rodtang Jitmuangnon starching Edgar Tabares in defense of his ONE flyweight Muay Thai throne.
In the main event, Demetrious Johnson settled the score with rival Adriano Moraes in a rubber match for the ONE flyweight MMA world title.