In today's ONE Friday fight, China's Zhang Peimian "Fighting Chicken" Zhang Peimian made his 2024 debut against Thailand's Aliph. In the end, Zhang Peimian defeated his opponent by unanimous decision and got off to a good start in 2024!
Prior to this tournament, Zhang Peimian won the title challenge with two consecutive wins, but in the championship match, he lost to Di Bella on points and missed out on the gold.
In the next two bouts, Zhang had a one-win and one-loss record, but the last bout was controversial about Zhang's points loss, and even ONE Championship President Sityodtong thought it should be Zhang who won the game.
In this bout, Alifu continued to use mid-kicks to block Zhang's attacks, while Zhang continued to use his combination punches to attack continuously.
Throughout the first round, Aliph fought and retreated to avoid Zhang Peimian's boxing attack, and was once blocked by Zhang Peimian in the corner of the fist for continuous output.
But Zhang Peimian is also advancing against Alif's kicks, and his physical function and physical strength have become the suspense of the game.
In the second round, Aliv used more knees to try to meet the advancing Zhang, but Zhang continued to push forward and output fiercely as soon as he entered the distance, and the match had become a test of each other's ability to resist each other, and whoever was hit hard first could lose the match.
At the end of the second round, Aliph was warned by the referee to hug him, and his fitness appeared to be in jeopardy.
At this time, Zhang Peimian was obviously not comfortable after being kicked continuously, but in terms of will quality, Zhang Peimian was obviously superior.
In the third round of the tiebreaker, Zhang Peimian did not have any problems with his physical fitness, and still resisted the opponent's kicks and advanced, but the height disadvantage was also blocked by the opponent many times.
Punch vs. leg fights aren't uncommon in kickboxing, but the toughness of the two fighters still makes the crowd's blood boil.
Zhang Peimian didn't give up until the last second of the match, and in the end, Zhang Peimian won by unanimous decision!
The tournament was preceded by an unexpected event, as reigning champion Di Bella, who had defeated Zhang, was canceled and stripped of his belt for failing the water content test, meaning that the strawweight kickboxing title is now vacant.
ONE Championship's weighing rules are very special, not only requiring the fighters to meet the weight standard, but also testing the water content of the fighters' bodies, which is to avoid the health problems caused by excessive dehydration, and it is also the most scientific weighing system available.
This means that Zhang Peimian is likely to get another chance to compete for the championship belt in the future! Di Bella's original opponent this time is Muay Thai star Prajanchai, so he is likely to compete with Prajanchai for the vacant title!