Zhang Peimian credits strong family ties as his ‘driving force’ to succeed: “I will repay my parents”

Heroes often have heartwarming origin stories and Zhang Peimian’s rise from obscurity is indeed a worthy tale to tell.

Now considered one of kickboxing’s brightest prodigies, the 20-year-old from Hepu County, Guangxi, China once only wanted to help his family make ends meet.

At a young age, Zhang did everything he could to help out, including working hard labor in a farm not too long ago.

His ticket to a better life came in 2018 when he turned professional and won 11 of his first 12 bouts.

‘Fighting Rooster’ soon became a household name when he blasted through the competition in China’s Road to ONE Tournament in 2021.

Zhang made it to the Singapore-based organization’s main roster and made his presence known immediately in the strawweight kickboxing ranks.

He registered back-to-back victories over Josh Tonna and Aslanbek Zikreev in impressive fashion, earning him a shot at gold against Jonathan Di Bella. Unfortunately, the Chinese star suffered a close unanimous decision defeat and was forced back to the drawing board.

While that setback has left a bad taste in his mouth, it only fueled Zhang’s desire to live up to his full potential. After all, he remains hungry to repay his parents' hard work by becoming the best fighter he can be.

Zhang said in a ONE Championship interview:

“Family is my driving force. As long as I succeed, I will repay my parents. The best qualities I learned from my parents were hard work and responsibility.”

Zhang has since bounced back from that defeat to Di Bella by outlasting Torepchi Dongak at ONE Fight Night 8 last March.

‘Fighting Rooster’ will look to register his second straight victory at ONE Fight Night 16, where he’ll take on Rui Botelho at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video will air live on US Primetime on November 3. The entire event is free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America