MMA News: Chinese Star Zhang Lipeng Calls Out Japanese Legend Shinya Aoki

Chinese mixed martial arts veteran and former TUF: China winner Zhang Lipeng is fresh off an impressive victory over multiple-time former ONE Championship lightweight king Eduard Folayang.

Now, he’s looking forward to challenging another ex-lightweight champion in the promotion.

Zhang delivered a comprehensive performance against Folayang in the main event of ONE: Battleground II, a tape-delayed event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium that aired last Friday, August 13.

Shortly after his comprehensive promotional debut, Zhang set his sights on Japanese icon Shinya Aoki.

“I want to fight Shinya Aoki for my next fight. I really like him, and I enjoy his fights. I am also a fan,” Zhang said in a video posted on social media.

“It is my dream to meet him in the ONE Circle. Shinya Aoki, I want to fight you in ONE. Do you accept this challenge?”

Aoki, who maintains a healthy social media following, didn’t take long to respond to “The Warrior” with a video message of his own.

“Hi, Zhang Lipeng. Thank you for saying that you like me, and that you’re a fan,” Aoki said in his own video.

“I heard you want to fight against me? Even though I enjoy being mentioned, I need you to consider carefully. There are a lot of other fighters in ONE. There are a lot of outstanding fighters. They don’t say bad things [like me]. There are a lot of honest fighters. You should look to them as role models. You should fight and admire them. I would be grateful.”

Tensions appear to be rising between the two, with Zhang no doubt looking to build on a solid performance against Folayang by adding another big feather in Aoki to his cap.

Aoki is one of the most decorated Asian mixed martial artists in history.

A showdown between Zhang and Aoki promises an interesting clash of styles and is one of the best fights to make in the ONE Championship lightweight division.

The two veterans boast of similar fighting styles, although Zhang is slightly more well-rounded. Meanwhile, Aoki likely has a better grappling resume.

The Singapore-based organization recently announced its next event titled ONE: Empower, a historic all-women fight card set for September 3.

The event jumpstarts a solid second-half schedule for the company as it looks to host a series of exciting events, including the much-talked-about ONE X, the promotion’s 10th-anniversary event revealed to International Business Times a few months ago.