ONE Championship 162: Di Bella beats Zhang to become new ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion

ONE Championship 162 just wrapped up in explosive fashion as the promotion saw a new world champion in its all-striking division. China's Zhang 'Fighting Rooster' Peimian faced Italian-Canadian kickboxing star Jonathan Di Bella for the vacant ONE strawweight kickboxing world title.

In a hotly-contested bout that went through all five rounds, the ONE Championship newcomer Di Bella outfought and outlasted Zhang via a unanimous decision to become the new world champion.

Rounds 1 through 3 looked dead-even as the two ferociously went after each other in violent exchanges. Every strike was getting answered just as furiously. As the rounds progressed, Di Bella was finding more success with his punches while Zhang's kicks were becoming his key weapons.

By the time they reached the fourth round, the bout was still anybody's ballgame as both fighters refused to have their spirits broken. After constant toe-to-toe exchanges, Di Bella stole the round by landing aggressive punch-kick combinations before the bell sounded.

Come the fifth and final round, Zhang upped his kicks while Di Bella met him in the middle with piston-like punches. In the final minute of the round, Di Bella dropped Zhang with a powerful head kick off a lead right hook. 'Fighting Rooster' beat the 10-count and finished the round swinging for the fences with Di Bella firing back with his own strikes.

With the shiny new belt hoisted on one of his shoulders, the very happy Di Bella spoke about the fight with Dom Lau:

"It was close. I didn't feel nothing from him [Zhang]. He didn't really have much power at all. He said I had no power [but] I felt nothing from him. But I train with the best. I train with hard people in Brooklyn Boxing. We go hard. My dad takes me everywhere. Me and him, we've been through everything together. And that's it. I think it was close but really, I felt nothing damaging."

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Full ONE Championship 162 main card results

The rest of the card saw action and drama across five explosive fights. Former ONE Championship bantamweight world title challenger and current No.5-ranked flyweight Reece 'Lightning' McLaren made a statement by stopping Brazil's Windson Ramos inside two rounds.

McLaren continually found success with his powerful right hand off the jab, pushing Ramos backwards and knocking him down at one point. After two rounds of action, Ramos refused to answer the bell for the third round due to a swollen foot, handing McLaren the TKO win. After the bout, McLaren once again called out Filipino Wushu specialist Danny 'The King' Kingad.

In a lightweight kickboxing bout, Moldovan striker Constantin 'Lioncrusher' Rusu defeated former ONE Championship world title challenger Islam Murtazaev via unanimous decision. Rusu used his aggressive style to keep Murtazaev timid throughout the bout.

No.4-ranked strawweight contender Gustavo Balart faced Alex Silva in a gritty, hard-fought MMA fight that went to a close split decision. The compact marvel used his patented overhand right, powerful hooks, and relentless wrestling to keep the Brazilian grappler from gaining strong momentum. The win was Balart's second victory over a former world champion in the promotion and is now calling for his own shot at gold.

In a featherweight Muay Thai showdown for the ages, former ONE Championship world title challenger Jimmy Vienot took care of business against Niclas Larsen in a striking battle that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Vienot used sharp and precise striking coupled with aggressive forward movement to keep Larsen on the back-pedal. Despite getting a cut over his left eye in the second round, Vienot regained his momentum and took over the fight to earn a unanimous decision win.

Finally, in the opening bout of the main card, ONE Championship flyweight sensation Eko Roni Saputra dominated the colorful Yodkaikaew Fairtex en route to a slick heel hook finish in the first round. Right from the opening bell, Saputra closed in and took Yodkaikaew down. On the ground, Saputra went straight to work, locking in an excruciating leglock just past the two-minute mark of the bout.

Here are the full results of ONE Championship 162:

MAIN CARD

• Kickboxing - Strawweight: Jonathan Di Bella def. Zhang Peimian via Unanimous Decision
• MMA - Flyweight: Reece McLaren def. Windson Ramos via TKO at 5:00 of R2
• Kickboxing - Catchweight (173.25 lbs): Constantin Rusu def. Islam Murtazaev via Unanimous Decision
• MMA - Catchweight (130.75 lbs): Gustavo Balart def. Alex Silva via Split Decision
• Muay Thai - Featherweight: Jimmy Vienot def. Niclas Larsen via Unanimous Decision
• MMA - Flyweight: Eko Roni Saputra def. Yodkaikaew Fairtex via Submission (Heel Hook) at 2:16 of R1

LEAD CARD

• MMA - Bantamweight: Artem Belakh def. Leandro Issa via Unanimous Decision
• Muay Thai - Catchweight (137.5 lbs): Denis Puric def. Tagir Khalilov via Unanimous Decision
• MMA - Welterweight: Ruslan Emilbek Uulu def. Ben Wilhelm via Submission (Rear-naked Choke) at 4:58 of R1