Jonathan Di Bella locked in for rematch with Zhang Peimian at The Inner Circle 22

Jonathan Di Bella defends the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title against Zhang Peimian on Friday, July 17, at The Inner Circle 22. The rematch streams live for members from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Their first meeting at ONE 162 in October 2022 remains one of the most dramatic World Title fights in ONE Championship history, and Di Bella expects the sequel to deliver the same kind of drama.

“It’s an exciting fight. Zhang is an exciting fighter, and it’s an exciting fight for the fans. The first one was fire, and this one will be fire as well,” the 29-year-old kingpin said.

“When I fought him, I believe he just turned 19, and I just turned 26. For sure, when I first signed with ONE, he was a kid who was destroying everybody. He won Road To ONE: China and destroyed the two guys he fought before me,” he said.

“Everybody was making a big deal about him. There was so much hype around him. He was the favorite to win. He was the next big thing. But then, he ran into me.”

Jonathan Di Bella vows to be even meaner this time

That history gives the rematch its emotional charge, and Jonathan Di Bella expects revenge to be Zhang’s driving motivation. He believes his own growth in the years since has gone largely overlooked.

After all, Zhang wants revenge and will show up as a completely different fighter. He is also older and more mature since their last fight.

“I have always had that mean streak in me, but this time, I have an extra fire in me because I really wanted that belt back, and now that I got it, I have to keep the same mean streak going. It’s a different time, and I’m going to be even meaner this time,” he said.

“Being a two-division champ would be great, but it’s a legendary fight. Superlek is a big name in a super-fight, and in this sport, to make your name bigger, you got to fight big names. But for the record, I’m only focusing on Zhang now. Without Zhang, there is no super-fight.”