Jonathan Di Bella surprised that veteran Sam-A made easy work of phenom Zhang Peimian: “Sam-A’s a legend”

Jonathan Di Bella was shocked to see Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao score a win over tough Chinese prospect Zhang Peimian.

Returning to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium for his second-career kickboxing bout under the ONE banner, Sam-A was tasked with taking out an opponent 20 years younger than him.

Despite being a considerable underdog, the former ONE world champion delivered a brilliant performance against the 'Fighting Rooster,' scoring a unanimous decision at ONE 169 in Bangkok.

Former ONE strawweight kickboxing king Jonathan Di Bella — who went five rounds with Zhang in Oct. 2022 — was very impressed with Sam-A's performance, telling Sportskeeda MMA:

"I think Sam-A got him all the rounds. Sam-A shocked me, actually. I thought Zhang was going to do well and win. But yeah, Sam-A’s a legend. When I signed with ONE, he was a champion, so it's cool to see him come back after retiring and getting a win streak again."

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Jonathan Di Bella meets Rui Botelho at ONE Fight Night 26 on Prime Video

Jonathan Di Bella's first two appearances in ONE Championship saw him bag wins over Zhang Peimian and Danial Williams.

Unfortunately, the Canadian-Italian's unbeaten streak came to an end at ONE Friday Fights 68 earlier this year when he suffered a decision loss against two-division titleholder Prajanchai PK Saenchai.

Returning to the ring at ONE Fight Night 26 on Friday, Dec. 6, Di Bella is primed to get back into the win column when he meets Portugal's Rui Botelho.

While Di Bella will look to bounce back from his first loss in ONE, Botelho enters the bout on a two-fight win streak, including a shocking split decision victory against Zhang Peimian.

Will Botelho move his win streak to three, or will Di Bella bag his first win of 2024?

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE Fight Night 26 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Dec. 6 in U.S. primetime.