Jonathan Di Bella believes Danial Williams deserves a shot at his strawweight kickboxing belt

Newly-crowned ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella believes a world title shot for Danial Williams is way overdue.

Danial Williams is by far one of the most experienced and underrated athletes in ONE Championship. The martial arts virtuoso currently competes in MMA at 125 lbs and has a proven track record in Muay Thai and kickboxing.

According to Di Bella, Williams would be his No. 1 pick, especially if he’s chosen to fight on the sought-after US prime card in Colorado.

Speaking to SCMP MMA, the Italian-Canadian athlete explained:

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“I’ve seen his resume in kickboxing. He has a big resume in kickboxing. He has more experience than me. He has a lot more experience than me in kickboxing and Muay Thai. And he’s been winning in kickboxing, so yeah I think he deserves a shot.”

Watch the full interview with SCMP below:

Danial Williams doesn’t lack potential opponents at the moment. Despite experiencing his only loss in MMA to Jeremy Miado last October, he strung together three strong wins last year to bolster his status among the elite.

Like Di Bella, Williams also expressed a desire to fight on American soil - whether it be MMA, kickboxing, or Muay Thai. But if it were up to him, he’d like to cross paths with either the current strawweight world champion Jarred Brooks or the No. 1-ranked contender Joshua Pacio.

However, if a world title fight with Di Bella were offered, Williams would take the challenge in a heartbeat.

Jonathan Di Bella calls 2022 a good year for him with ONE Championship

Although Jonathan Di Bella had only one match last year, it was definitely a memorable one.

An undefeated former Glory and ISKA kickboxing world champion, Di Bella figured in a fight for the vacant ONE strawweight kickboxing world title in his promotional debut.

He was paired up with teenage prodigy ‘Fighting Rooster’ Zhang Peimian, who had built a reputation for being one of the hardest punchers in the growing division. On October 10, both fighters put on an awe-inspiring performance filled with action from start to finish.

After a closely-contested matchup, Jonathan Di Bella edged the win by unanimous decision to claim the ONE strawweight kickboxing world title.

In the same interview, the 26-year-old standout shared his thoughts about his last fight and said:

“It was a good year, we worked hard, we trained hard and the outcome came on our side. We’re ready to go back to work, put in more work and get more victories.”

About the author

Saray has been a part of Sportskeeda’s MMA team for the last two years and has penned over 1500 pieces so far. She extensively covers ONE Championship, reporting on disciplines like Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, MMA, and kickboxing. She previously spent a year working for BTC Promotions in Burlington, Ontario. She has a degree in English and was also an English Language instructor.

A former taekwondo practitioner, Saray’s favorite fighters include Khabib Nurmagomedov, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, and Demetrious Johnson.

Saray’s journey as an MMA fan began after watching Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Juliana Lima at UFC on Fox 12 in 2014. She now pushes to provide unique and accurate insights to MMA enthusiasts. Her extensive experience includes interviewing top ONE Championship athletes like Danielle Kelly and ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt via The MMA Superfan and Sportskeeda.

Outside of work, her other interests include watching the UFC, playing soccer, and blogging. And she loves being a mom.

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Edited by Dave