Jonathan Di Bella ONE 172: "This is real war" - Fans in pure awe of Jonathan Di Bella's heart-pounding ONE Championship debut against Zhang Peimian

ONE Championship fans are still raving about the duel between former ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella and Zhang Peimian over the then-vacant crown in October 2022.

In an all-out war for the ages, the debuting Di Bella and 'Fighting Rooster' battled each other until the final bell rang in the fifth round. Di Bella's relentless offense and the lone knockdown he scored led him to win the gold via unanimous decision.

Check out the highlights of their fight below, which ONE shared on Instagram:

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Fans in the comments section praised both fighters for leaving it all out in the circle, writing:

"Both were unbelievably quick."

"Does he look like a young Ramon Dekkers a bit? or is it just me."

"This is real war 🔥👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️"

"@jondibella the best kick boxer of the world!!💯🇮🇹"

"As soon as the ☕☕☕☕☕ kicked in, it was Game Over @jondibella 🤌🏼🤌🏼"

"Di Bella has Some of the best boxing I've ever seen in kickboxing."

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

After fending off Danial Williams' challenge in October 2023, Di Bella was stripped of the gold in April 2024 for failing the pre-fight hydration test ahead of his scheduled defense against Prajanchai PK Saenchai at ONE Friday Fights 58.

Rescheduled to June of the same year after Di Bella fell ill, Prajanchai went on to defeat him and claim the then-vacant 125-pound kickboxing world championship.

Jonathan Di Bella set to compete for interim gold

With Jonathan Di Bella hoping to rematch Prajanchai for the undisputed crown, his first step will be to win the ONE interim strawweight kickboxing world championship at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23.

Gunning to take the interim crown for himself is the inaugural 125-pound kickboxing king and Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, who is coming off a unanimous decision win over Zhang Peimian this past November.

ONE 172 will emanate from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event will be available live via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard