Jonathan Di Bella has earned the right to have opinions on world-class striking. As the reigning ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion, the Italian-Canadian has lived through the pressure of defending gold at the highest level, and he knows what it takes to perform when everything is on the line.

The Inner Circle 19 delivers two World Title bouts live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 19, streaming exclusively for members.

In the main event, ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues defends her title against ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom. In the co-main, newly crowned ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Samet “The King” Agdeve puts his title on the line against two-sport, two-division king Roman Kryklia in a rematch.

Di Bella’s connection to the main event runs deeper than casual observation. At ONE 172 in March 2025, Phetjeeja trained alongside him and his father Angelo after their respective bouts, drilling technique and discussing errors with a hunger that left a strong impression on the Italian-Canadian.

“She was asking us questions. She saw us go over some of my mistakes in my fight … me and my dad were going over some techniques, and she joined in. She was like, ‘Ok, I’m excited, let’s do some training!’ She wanted to learn everything,” he said.

“I think both of us were trying to fix our mistakes after our fights. That’s how we are. We want to learn every time. We’re never satisfied, so after every fight, we always need to keep learning.”

That shared pursuit of perfection has produced two of the finest female strikers on the planet. Di Bella expects the encounter between Rodrigues and Phetjeeja to hinge on range control. He believes Phetjeeja’s flawless boxing could be the decisive factor under the 4-ounce gloves, though he is quick to acknowledge the Brazilian’s Muay Thai threat.

“I really like them both. I know they are both very offensive. It could be like a 50-50 or 60-40 fight for Phetjeeja just because of her technique. Her technique is very flawless, and she has more of a boxing-based style and very good kicks. She’s very slick, and with those 4-ounce gloves, her boxing could be dangerous,” he said.

“Allycia has more of a Muay Thai style, and she is very dangerous, too.”

For the co-main event, Di Bella has followed Kryklia’s career closely enough to exchange messages with the Ukrainian on social media. When Agdeve snapped Kryklia’s seven-year undefeated streak at ONE Fight Night 37 last November to claim the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title, the result shocked the combat sports world. Now Di Bella expects the 6-foot-7 Ukrainian to make significant tactical adjustments in the sequel.

“Those guys are ginormous! I really like Roman. I never met him, but we message each other on Instagram, and he’s a really cool guy,” he said.

“Samet came out of nowhere and upset everybody. He was great. He showed some great kicks, and now Roman has to try to avoid those. It’ll be fun to see.”

The strawweight kickboxing ruler believes Agdeve’s blueprint is straightforward: replicate the formula from the first fight. For Kryklia, survival and revenge depend on movement and output.

“I think Samet has to do almost the same thing as he did in his last fight. It’s one of the only ways to beat Roman because he is so big. And Roman has to do a lot of moving, a lot of in-and-out, and set up a counter-punch or counter-kick, or something. He has to counter Samet, for sure,” he said.

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