"Nothing was ever simple" - An inside look at Diogo Reis' gruelling preparation for ONE Fight Night 38 title match

The price of championship gold rarely appears in highlight reels, but Diogo Reis' coach just pulled back the curtain on what it truly costs.

Melqui Galvao, head coach of the newly crowned ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion, shared a revealing glimpse into his fighter's condition following his unanimous decision victory over Daiki Yonekura at ONE Fight Night 38 on Friday, December 5, inside Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium.

"WHAT ALMOST NO ONE IMAGINES. In high income, there's a world that doesn't appear in the videos: injuries, daily pressure, sleepless nights, last-minute adjustments, doubts. During the preparation of Diogo, we went through some difficult times. Nothing was ever simple," he wrote.

His post continued:

"But the truth is that when the team is competent and the athlete has the right mentality, nothing brings them down. Diogo's strength to keep going, even on bad days, made it all worthwhile. And today, he achieves another important title in his career. This was his last competition of 2025. Now we will analyze, plan, and define with the team the next steps of his career."

Diogo Reis' path to 26 pounds of gold wasn't easy, after all. Yonekura came prepared to battle the Brazilian's feared submission-hunting game throughout the tie.

Though he mainly decided to counterattack from guard, looking for loopholes as 'Baby Shark' attempted to score one catch after the other, the Brazilian's aggression and output impressed all three judges at ringside.

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Diogo Reis says he covered all bases to prepare for Daiki Yonekura

During his victory speech alongside Circle-side color commentator Mitch Chilson, Diogo Reis revealed that he did not take his foot off the gas pedal during fight camp at all, which, perhaps, best explains his condition after the event.

"[There weren't] any surprises, I was ready for everything. I knew [Daiki Yonekura] was a good opponent. So I still prepared myself for this, you know. I'm so tired here because I gave him my all to get this title. So that's what made it better," Diogo Reis shared.

The two-time ADCC world champion's hard work certainly paid off. With the win inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, the 23-year-old moved to 2-0 under the ONE banner.

In his promotional bow at ONE Fight Night 29 this past March, Reis submitted Shoya Ishiguro at 6:05 of their 10-minute matchup.

North American fight fans who missed any of the action from ONE Fight Night 38 can catch the entire card via replay for free on Amazon Prime Video.