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Danial Williams hopes that a decisive victory at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video will lead to a potential ONE world title opportunity.
On March 24, ‘Mini-T’ returns to the Circle for a Muay Thai matchup with Portuguese striker Rui Botehlo. It will be just the second time Danial Williams has competed in the art of eight limbs under the ONE Championship banner, the first coming against ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon in 2021.
In an interview with the promotion, Danial Williams shared his desire to challenge for a ONE world championship should he emerge victorious at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, though it might not be the world title you were thinking of.
“I'm understanding kickboxing scoring really well now. That'll be awesome to be able to fight [Jonathan Di Bella] this year as well, especially if we get the wins. I've just watched him fight, and I feel he's very beatable. And he's super keen to fight as well. I've said that I wanted to be a three-sport champ. That's just my goal. At least try my best anyway.”
Jonathan Di Bella currently reigns as the ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion following a unanimous decision victory over Zhang Peimian at ONE 162 in October. The win extended Di Bella’s undefeated streak to 11-0.
“He has a different style that I want to challenge myself with,” Williams continued. “Because I feel like I'm a little bit taller than that southpaw. I had troubles with it in the past. And I feel like I've got a game plan for him that will really work.
"He's an exciting fighter, too. I'm an exciting fighter. I think that would be a good fan fight. Kickboxing gloves, the big gloves on, man, I haven't done that in a while. I'm just understanding the scoring slightly better. That's why I want to jump in kickboxing. I'm super keen that he's keen to fight, and he's throwing my name around. So hopefully, that happens.”
Danial Williams vs. Jonathan Di Bella would be an incredibly intriguing matchup for the two strawweight standouts, but before ‘Mini T’ can start looking at a title opportunity, he’ll need to take care of business against Rui Botelho.
The Williams-Botelho matchup will go down at ONE Fight Night 8 and the entire card will be available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Danial Williams refuses to look past Rui Botelho at ONE Fight Night 8
Danial Williams knows that in order to become a three-sport world champion someday, he has to perform well every time he steps inside the Circle. To do that, he has to focus on his opponent and not on what could come next.
“You can't look past the next fight too much because it means nothing if I don't do well against Rui. So it's just tunnel vision right now. Before the Rui match, I was like, ‘Yeah, Jonathan Di Bella. All of this and that.’ But now it's like, I actually got a match now. I have to prove myself because I’m coming off a loss in the last fight, even though it's a different sport.”
Danial Williams' last appearance inside the Circle was in a mixed martial arts contest against Marrok Force standout Jeremy Miado. Riding a three-fight win streak, ‘Mini-T’ saw his momentum halted via a third-round knockout. He will attempt to get back on the winning path against 19-win veteran Rui Botelho on Friday night in U.S. primetime.
