“I want to fight” – Jonathan Di Bella targets appearances on ONE Championship’s U.S. shows

Jonathan Di Bella, the ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion, has expressed his desire to participate in the promotion’s upcoming live on-ground events in the United States this year.

After a successful debut in the United States in May of last year in Colorado, where ONE brought its exceptional martial arts entertainment to its North American audience, plans are underway for the organization to make a comeback in the latter part of this year.

ONE plans to host two events in the United States in 2024, with the initial one taking place in September in Denver, Colorado, followed by the second event in November in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Canadian-Italian champion expressed in an interview with Calf Kick Sports that he hopes to participate in at least one of the U.S. shows, if not both. This would allow him to compete in front of his North American fans.

The standout from Team Di Bella Kickboxing, who is 27 years old, stated:

“In terms of goals, I want to fight, or be part of the U.S. shows, the two U.S. shows, either September or November, yeah, I don’t mind either one of those.”

Take a look at his statement below:

The first live on-ground event for ONE Championship in the United States occurred on May 5, 2023 at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was completely sold out and featured a highly anticipated trilogy title fight between ONE’s flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson and his Brazilian rival, Adriano Moraes. In the end, ‘Mighty Mouse’ emerged victorious by unanimous decision.

Jonathan Di Bella: Defending ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title is Top Priority

Currently, Jonathan Di Bella is prioritizing the defense of his ONE strawweight kickboxing world title, but he also has aspirations to participate in ONE Championship’s upcoming events in the United States later this year.

The current divisional champion will once again defend his title at ONE Friday Fights 58 on April 5 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. He will face off against Prajanchai PK Saenchai, the reigning strawweight Muay Thai champion, in a highly anticipated champion vs. champion bout.

In October 2022, Jonathan Di Bella became the world champion after defeating Chinese prodigy Zhang Peimian in a unanimous decision and claiming the vacant ONE strawweight kickboxing world title.

In October, he was able to secure a decision victory against his Australian-Thai challenger, Danial Williams, successfully defending his title.

Pranjanchai, 29, is determined to put an end to Jonathan Di Bella’s reign as he aims to become a two-sport world champion. In December, he successfully claimed the undisputed strawweight Muay Thai title by knocking out his opponent, the former divisional king Joseph Lasiri, in the first round of their unification bout.

ONE Friday Fights 58 is scheduled to be broadcasted live on April 5 through a global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.