Surging Brazilian MMA talent Lucas Gabriel will embrace the sternest test of his career when he faces Chinese slugger Zhang Lipeng at ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II.
The promising puncher makes his debut on ONE Championship’s global roster against the tried-and-tested combatant in a lightweight MMA tilt this Saturday, 3rd May, inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium.
A graduate of the ONE Friday Fights series, Gabriel notched three victories, with his latest win coming by submission last October, to earn a US$100,000 contract with the world’s largest martial arts organisation. But with every win, the competition becomes tougher, and the 25-year-old is excited to test his skills against a divisional stalwart.
“I know Zhang Lipeng is a strong and experienced opponent. He has fought in major events, so I believe he will be a great challenge for me,” he said.
“I see a lot of gaps in Zhang’s game, both on the ground and standing, and I want to take advantage of those gaps.”
Gabriel respects the body of work Zhang has accumulated over his lengthy career. After all, “The Warrior” holds an impressive career record of 35-13.
This past February, he served fierce finisher Hiroyuki Tetsuka a first-round knockout, and he has also scored wins over esteemed competitors like the battle-hardened Timofey Nastyukhin and former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Eduard Folayang in ONE Championship.
With all that in mind, Gabriel still believes his tools as a decorated striker and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt are that much sharper than Zhang’s, and he plans to showcase that to the world at ONE Fight Night 31.
“He is dangerous both standing and on the ground, has a lot of knockout power, and has a lot of submissions in his career,” he said.
“He is a complete MMA fighter, just like me, but I believe I am better than him in all areas, and I will prove that in the fight.”
