Zhang Peimian says world title defeat spurred him to improve himself

Zhang Peimian admits to feeling sorry for himself after coming up short in his ONE world title fight last year. However, the ‘Fighting Rooster’ learned to use it as motivation to improve his skills.

After scoring back-to-back wins against Josh Tonna and Aslanbek Zikreev, Peimian earned his first ONE world championship opportunity, facing Jonathan Di Bella for the ONE strawweight kickboxing world championship. It was a highly competitive contest, but in the end, Di Bella walked away with a unanimous decision victory on his record and 26 pounds of ONE gold around his waist.

Zhang Peimian admitted to feeling sorry for himself following the loss, but eventually learned to use the experience as a way to motivate himself. Speaking at the ONE Fight Night 8 post-fight press event, ‘Fighting Rooster’ said:

“The last time I lost the belt, I was nervous, so I felt very sad and sorry. But after that, I trained a lot and practiced a lot. This year I have confidence in us.”

That confidence showed in his return to the circle on Friday night, where he scored a big win over ONE Championship debutant Torepchi Dongak. The win will likely move Peimian’s name back towards the top of potential title contenders and another shot at ONE Championship gold.

Catch Peimian's post-fight interview below:

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Zhang Peimian shares the lesson he learned after fighting Jonathan Di Bella

Zhang Piemian’s first loss inside the circle was a tough pill for the Chinese standout to swallow. In the end, ‘Fighting Rooster’ not only learned to live with the defeat, but he also used it as a learning opportunity, particularly when competing in a world title fight.

"The most important thing I learned from it is that anything could happen,” Peimian said. “Until the bell is ringing, you should just never think like, ‘Oh, I’ll go hard in these three rounds and then I’ll play safe in these two.’ That won’t work when you are fighting for championships. Always go hard like you are losing it. That’s what I learned."

It remains to be seen if Zhang Peimian will receive another opportunity to take Jonathan Di Bella’s ONE world championship. One man who wants to see the rematch, though, is ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan, ‘The Hurricane’ said:

“I think Zhang deserves another chance for the title. If he wins this fight, for sure they’ll put him against Jonathan Di Bella for the second time, I’m sure about that."