ONE Championship: Zhang Lipeng hopes title quest begins against Maurice Abevi, assesses compatriots on One Fight Night 22
- The 35-year-old still dreams of winning the lightweight title and thinks a win over the Swiss will leave him on course to do that
- Zhang is part of a three-man Chinese contingent at ONE Fight Night 22, the others being Hu Yong and Wei Rui
Zhang Lipeng has been a professional fighter since 2009, with success in China and beyond, and few are better placed to assess the fighters coming up from his country.
But at the forefront of the 35-year-old’s mind is his own upcoming bout with Switzerland’s Maurice Abevi at ONE Fight Night 22 at Lumpinee stadium on Friday.
Zhang, who describes the Swiss fighter as “aggressive”, is nine years older than Abevi, who is coming off a win over American Blake Cooper.
“I think he is a good fighter, and his style is very aggressive. And his advantage is his height and arm length,” said Zhang.
Abevi suffered the first loss his career in his ONE Championship debut against Turkey’s Halil Amir but despite the defeat, Zhang was impressed by what he saw.
“I watched his two [ONE Championship] fights and I would give him seven out of 10.