Jonathan Di Bella Survives ONE 162 Clash, Takes Home Vacant Strawweight Kickboxing Title

ONE Championship gave fans around the world a treat with ONE 162 featuring Jonathan Di Bella and Zhang Peimian's epic clash over the vacant strawweight kickboxing title.

Zhang was eager to prove that the hype was justified as he scored points early with his leg kicks and left hooks that appeared to catch Di Bella off-guard as he was not expecting the quickness of his opponent.

However, Di Bella was not going to take things lying down as well as his speed had Zhang's corner constantly reminding their fighter to be wary of it with no clear winner heading into the second round.

The second round was just as intense, or even more, than the first as both men traded shots with little remorse for their own safety–though Di Bella had some success landing the lead right hook to the face of Zhang.

Entering the third, Zhang's corner apparently told him to focus on Di Bella's lead leg as he repeatedly targeted it with inside leg kicks which left a nasty-looking welt on it, though it seemed to not have affected Di Bella at all as he continued to move forward.

The fourth was about as even as possible, but Zhang's power and precision appeared to have given Di Bella massive problems entering the fifth as he cracked the Canadian-Italian repeatedly with ease.

However, Di Bella still had a lot left in the tank as he fired a Hail Mary head kick to knock down Zhang late in the final round, which secured it in his favor with a 10-8 score.

With a razor-close fight entering the judges scorecards, it would turn out to be the head kick that kept Di Bella ahead of Zhang by points as he took home the ONE strawweight kickboxing title via unanimous decision in a main event for the history books.

In the co-main event, ONE Championship mainstay Reece McLaren took on the brash Windson Ramos in an exciting mixed martial arts (MMA) affair between two prolific strikers.

Both men needed little introduction as they let their fists do the talking, but it was McLaren who took advantage of the exchanges after landing multiple right hands down the middle which eventually dropped the Brazilian late in the first round.

The second round was no different as McLaren showcased a refined striking game after enlisting the services of Australian Muay Thai legend John Wayne Parr earlier in the year, and it looked like Ramos was going to struggle the rest of the way.

Ramos, for as durable as he was for eating all of McLaren's stinging punches, could not answer the bell ahead of the third round as he cited an injury to his foot allowing McLaren to take home the victory by TKO.

During the post-fight interview, "Lightning" told Mitch Chilson that he wants Team Lakay's Danny Kingad next as he seeks to take out everyone standing in his way from a flyweight title fight with Demetrious Johnson.

Ahead of the co-main event, former ONE kickboxing lightweight title contender Islam Murtazaev took on Moldova's Constantin Rusu in the latter's second fight in the promotion.

For whatever reason, the Russian rarely pulled the trigger which allowed the more active and aggressive Rusu to sway the judges in his favor and take home the unanimous decision win.

Strawweight mixed martial artists Gustavo Balart and Alex Silva both had something to prove entering ONE 162 and showed their desire to win over the other from the opening bell.

Silva tried to enforce his will early on the 4-foot-11 Cuban wrestler by threatening a heel hook, but Balart's skills on the mat were extremely beneficial as he was able to roll out of the former titleholder's attempts at a finish while also scoring points with his leg kicks.

The second was leaning in favor of Balart as his wrestling skills and precise striking kept "Little Rock" cautious with how he approached inside the pocket, tagging the Brazilian multiple times with quick combos on the feet plus repeatedly landing overhand lefts.

When it was all said and done, the judges awarded Balart with a split decision extending his win streak to three and made it clear that he wants to challenge for the ONE strawweight strap next.

Also on the card was No. 4-ranked Muay Thai featherweight Jimmy Vienot coming out victorious by unanimous decision against Niclas Larsen, potentially setting himself up for a date with featherweight Muay Thai titleholder Tawanchai PK.Saenchai after calling him out in the post-fight interview.

Indonesia's Eko Roni Saputra caught fan-favorite Yodkaikaew Fairtex by surprise in their flyweight MMA tussle when he secured a heel hook in the very first round plus a $50,000 performance bonus in the opening bout of the main card.

Lead card results:

• Bantamweight MMA: Artem Belakh def. Leandro Issa via unanimous decision
• Catchweight (62.6 KG) Muay Thai: Denis Puric def. Tagir Khalilov via unanimous decision
• Welterweight MMA: Ruslan Emilbek Uulu def. Ben Wilhelm via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:58 of round one