Chinese MMA star Zhang Lipeng warns ONE Fight Night 31 rival he is facing step up in class
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The veteran fighter boasts an extensive career, with a half-century of bouts fought, and is coming off an impressive round-two TKO win over Hiroyuki 'Japanese Beast' Tetsuka in February.
And with that victory, he is keen to prove to Gabriel that there are levels to ONE Championship.
'I'm going to welcome him with the sole loss in his career,' Zhang told the Post, 'because I'm going to show him that it's not easy fighting on the main stage.'
Gabriel may have earned his place in ONE Championship with a strong run in ONE Friday Fights, with three victories – but Zhang said he will prove to be another level to the jiu-jitsu black belt's previous opponents.
Chinese MMA star Zhang Lipeng dreams of facing Shinya Aoki. Photo: ONE Championship
'I watched his previous fights – I think none of them is truly at ONE Championship level,' Zhang said. 'I'm going to show him what it feels like to share the ring with a very well-rounded legend.'
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