Jonathan Di Bella got his tenure in ONE Championship off to a dream start by claiming the vacant ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title in the main event of ONE 162 last Friday, October 21.

The Italian-Canadian star let loose his ruthless arsenal on previously unbeaten striking sensation “Fighting Rooster” Zhang Peimian to earn a unanimous decision victory after five thrilling rounds of action inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Di Bella controlled his younger foe for the majority of the clash, picking him apart with stinging jabs and kicks.

Jonathan Di Bella won in a dominating fashion

Zhang managed to match the debutant strike-for-strike in the earlier frames but couldn’t keep up with his furious pace in the final three minutes. With the win and the strap in hand, the undefeated striker confidently expressed how important it was for him to prove himself on ONE’s global stage.

“It means a lot. Especially, coming here in his territory, and in Asia, and everybody had it against me,” Di Bella said. “I believe it was 75-25 percent for him. Against all odds, I told you I was going to give you a war. I told you I was going to do my talking in the Circle, and I did.”

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The World Title-winning performance was made even more significant given that Zhang was particularly arrogant in the lead-up to the match, claiming he would finish Di Bella within three rounds.

Despite the harsh words, the 26-year-old made it clear that he was focused on preparing for his debut and not predicting if he would finish the Chinese superstar, which was ultimately the right move.

“All week and last week, and the week before, and leading up to the fight, he was saying he was going to knock me out. That I was not going to last three rounds. But guess what? He went down, and I broke him mentally,” Di Bella said.

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Now that he’s got a taste of life inside the ONE Circle, and given that he is the new strawweight kickboxing king, Di Bella is hungry to return to action as soon as possible.

Demetrious Johnson is Jonathan Di Bella’s next target

He’ll have his pick of opponents to defend his gold against. But if he were to have a choice on his next move, the Montreal resident would love to face Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson – if the ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion and MMA GOAT was open to a striking-only showdown.

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“Anybody that ONE puts in front of me in the kickboxing division. Anybody. I heard also that Demetrious wants to come to kickboxing. If he wants to come to kickboxing, I’m open. I’ll respect it if he wants to come to kickboxing,” Di Bella shared.

“He’s the goat in MMA. He’s one of the greatest of all time in MMA, and it will be an honor to fight him, especially in kickboxing. I know he’s a good striker.“