Yuan Pengjie Calls Out Di Bella After Kongthoranee Bout

Chinese flyweight Yuan Pengjie has mapped out his path to a ONE Championship world title, starting with Kongthoranee Sor Sommai this Friday and ending with a showdown against strawweight king Jonathan Di Bella.

Pengjie faces the former three-time Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai champion in the flyweight kickboxing co-main event of The Inner Circle 32 on September 25 at Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium, per BJPenn.com. The 23-year-old brings a 40-4 record and recent wins over WMC World Champion Lamnamoonlek Torfunfarm and Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi into the contest, which airs exclusively for Inner Circle subscribers with a US$100,000 contract on the line.

Yuan Eyes Di Bella Title Fight After Contract Win

Pengjie has added power training and extra footwork sessions to his camp ahead of the Thai veteran. He acknowledged Kongthoranee's durability and dangerous spinning back fist while backing his own hands to finish the fight. "My strength is my punches. I feel I am capable of getting a knockout using my punches and that I am good at that," he said, according to the report.

The Sitsongpeenong product made clear where he sees the contract leading. "My goal is to win the match beautifully and get the contract. I want to win the gold belt. Getting the contract is the first step toward that title," Pengjie told BJPenn.com. "If I win this fight, I want to fight Di Bella. Di Bella is at the top, so I want to challenge him next."

Kongthoranee represents a clear step up for Pengjie, having competed at the edge of world title contention in ONE's flyweight Muay Thai division before switching rule sets. The 29-year-old's experience at the highest level makes him the sort of opponent who earns fighters their spot on the main roster.

The Inner Circle 32 streams live in Asia primetime this Friday, with Pengjie's bout serving as the co-main event underneath the card's featured contest.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Yuan Pengjie wants Jonathan Di Bella after Kongthoranee at The Inner Circle 32