Zhang looks to ground Folayang come ONE: Battleground II

After putting in nearly a decade of hard work outside of ONE Championship, “The Warrior” Zhang Lipeng is excited to finally make his organizational debut.

Waiting for him is none other than former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in a match that could certainly determine whether Zhang has what it takes to hang with the big boys.

As tough as this debut match is for him, however, “The Warrior” wouldn’t want things any other way.

“Folayang is a fighter with excellent stand-up techniques. Because he used to practice wushu sanda, every punch and every kick he throws is hefty. To fight him, I have to be ready at all times,” Zhang told ONEFC.com, entering their main event bout at the previously recorded ONE: Battleground II this Friday.

“Folayang’s stand-up skills are very good. I saw he knocked out many people when I watched his [competitions]. But [he also has] ground skills. After someone took him down, he could get up very fast. He also did an outstanding job on some of the ground control movements.”

Though he knows that facing Folayang is a tall order for his debut, Zhang comes in packed with confidence, especially since he’s fresh off a dominant run in his home country of China, having won 21 of his past 24 bouts over the last six years.

That, and the fact that he sees Folayang’s lack of grappling playing right into his strengths, gives him tons of confidence entering this match.

“Folayang’s weakness is his ground skill, such as his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is not so outstanding compared with his other skills,” Zhang said. “Ground skill is one of my strengths, so it may be the crucial point of this match. In his past five [losses], he was submitted by his opponents in three of them. But in four of my last five wins, I submitted my opponents.

“Therefore, I would say this may be a key point of this match. I might try to take him down to win it.”

Whether this match ends up on the ground or not, Zhang expects nothing less from Folayang, and he believes fans should expect a scrap between the two of them when the Circle door closes this Friday.

“I’m going to have a great match against Folayang. He always fights aggressively with heavy punches and heavy kicks. My style is pretty [aggressive] as well, so it will be an exciting fight and we will give our best to the fans of ONE Championship,” Zhang said.

“I want to prove myself in ONE through my debut fight, and prove my skills and strength. This is the start of my challenge for the ONE Lightweight World Title belt.”