Today on Beyond The Cage, we have the new One Championship Strawweight Kickboxing champion, Jonathan Di Bella. Jon talks about his super early start in kickboxing and karate, his discipline when it comes to training & his most recent title fight vs Zhang Peimian.

Beyond The Cage is a weekly podcast hosted by Gabe Benchimol & Jamie Mancini where they interview guests in the combat sports world across the planet.

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Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
3:30 Starting Martial Arts At 2 years old
5:05 Jon Has Never Ever Lost
8:26 Getting Knocked Out the first time
9:18 Early Pro Kickboxing days
10:46 Jon Had To Bulk Up To Make The Minimum weight
13:28 The initial plan when entering One Championship
17:16 Zhang Peimian Popping up on Di Bella’s radar
18:12 Jon as representative of combat sports in montreal
19:26 Jon’s work ethic and gym culture
22:06 Jon’s travel issues
24:06 The production side of One Championship
25:32 Crossing paths with his opponent
26:16 Opponent’s coach telling him he was gonna knock his son out
26:42 Jon on Raul Rosas Jr and starting to compete a high level at a young age
28:16 Zhang Peimian may have lied about his age
29:04 In the locker room the night of the fight
31:24 Jon’s comfortability in the big moment
32:54 Jon’s leg kicks are deadly
34:32 Jon’s thought process throughout the fight
35:57 How proper technique always trumps power
39:12 Jon unveils the belt
40:31 Demetrious Johnson wants to kickbox Jon Di Bella
41:00 Weighing in after the title fight
41:58 Double champion status?
44:01 A move to Muay Thai or MMA
44:54 Jon predicts Adesanya vs Pereira
45:56 How Jon met Alex Pereira
47:48 Jon’s fights that he’s looking forward to
49:40 Jon’s desire to bring one championship to America