“I’m Desperate To Have the World Title Fight” – Zhang Peimian Not Looking Past Rui Botelho To Reach His Goal of Fighting for Kickboxing Gold

Zhang Peimian wants another chance at claiming ONE gold, but he knows that looking too far ahead might be dangerous.

‘Fighting Rooster’ will be back in action on Friday, November 3, when he takes on Portugal’s Rui Botelho in a strawweight kickboxing contest at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. He’s laser-focused on picking up a second win after defeating Torepchi Dongak this past March.

Zhang Peimian is eyeing victory against Rui Botelho at ONE Fight Night 16

“Every fighter wants to win their match, and I’ll try my best,” Zhang told ONE in a recent interview. Standing in his way will be a Muay Thai veteran looking to prove that he belongs in the company of the planet’s most elite strikers.

While he has put in some exciting performances, Botelho has been on the wrong end of narrow decisions throughout his tenure in ONE. That said, his sole win in the world’s largest martial arts organization so far came in the only kickboxing bout he has taken part in. He’ll be hoping to replicate that success when he takes on Zhang, as it could immediately vault his name into the World Title conversation.

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After all, the Chinese star is the man to beat in the strawweight kickboxing division after narrowly missing out on hoisting the divisional crown against Jonathan Di Bella at ONE 162 last October. A perfectly timed head kick from the Canadian-Italian in the fifth round of their encounter sent Zhang to the canvas, and that proved to be the deciding factor when the fight went to the judges’ scorecard.

A title matchup is  the goals for the Chinese star

Knowing he was a quick decision away from being World Champion, the Shengli Fight Club is hell-bent on redeeming himself in a rematch with the reigning king. However, he knows there is work to be done on November 3 first.

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“I’m desperate to have the World Title fight, but right now I’m more focused on ONE Fight Night 16. After I win, we’ll see what happens,” Zhang said.