Tiffany Teo To Showcase Continued Improvement At ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT

Tiffany “No Chill” Teo is a woman on a mission. Armed with a flawless professional record of 6-0, the Singaporean is making a beeline for the top of ONE Championship’s women’s strawweight division.

The 28-year-old will return to action on Friday, 24 November, as she faces Indian debutant Puja Tomar (3-1) at ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT, live in front of a roaring hometown crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Competing at home is always a highlight for Teo, who looks to continue her winning ways and eventually vie for a divisional world championship.

“I like it more in Singapore,” she reveals with a grin. “It is really nice when you walk out and you have a lot of people cheering for you. When I compete, I am focused on my opponent, but I realize that every time I land a punch or get a takedown, I can hear the crowd responding, and that is really awesome.

“My long term goal would be getting a shot at the title belt that is currently vacant. Looking at the other female athletes in the division, I am undefeated and I feel like a top contender. I do not mind any opponent they give me – I am ready to take on any one of them.”

Teo has every right to feel confident in her abilities. The Singaporean’s last win came this May, when she outclassed Rebecca Heintzman-Rozewski at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES, proving more than a match for her American opponent en route to a unanimous decision win.

While Heintzman-Rozewski was slated to pose problems for Teo with her grappling background, it was a test that “No Chill” passed with flying colors.

The former national boxing champion not only got the better of the striking exchanges, but also more than held her own on the mat, even executing a few close submissions.

“Heintzman-Rozewski was constantly engaging in clinches and going for the takedown,” Teo explains. “The key was that I was a more well-rounded competitor, and even though I got taken down, I managed to control the bout.”

Despite the victory, she acknowledged that there was still plenty of room for improvement, as she looks to continue her rise in the martial arts world.

“The win gave me a lot of confidence, but at the same time, I also realized that I need to work on little details with my grappling. I got her in a triangle armbar, but I had difficulty finishing the submission,” she admits.

“I realized that I know how to set up submissions, but I have to learn how to finish them, so that was one of the things I have been working, among other minor details.”

It is easy to see why Teo has succeeded in her transition from a boxing champion to an undefeated martial artist in the space of a few years. Besides the obvious dedication to her craft, there is an attention to detail that sets her apart from her peers.

“Every match, even if I win, I will come back to the gym and evaluate my weaknesses and make sure that I am a better competitor for my next bout,” she says. “I will make it a point that the Tiffany in this match will beat the Tiffany from the last match.”

The Singaporean has been quite active since her victory over Heintzman-Rozewski, as she has participated in a few tournaments overseas and concentrated specifically on her grappling.

“I went to California a month ago on vacation and trained a bit. I competed in the NAGA Grappling Championship, one of the major no-gi tournaments in the US, and also in another smaller, in-house gym tournament. I did not really train much for them, but it was a rare opportunity, so I gave it a shot,” she explains.

“I also started working a lot on my wrestling, because I realized that I gave up quite a few takedowns in May. I got in touch with Wrestling Federation Singapore and started training with the national team, because there are not many wrestling gyms in Singapore.”

Teo will bring all of her brand new skills with her to the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 24 November, as she gets another stiff test in India’s Tomar at ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT.

While Tomar may lack the same big-show experience “No Chill” brings to the contest, she is just as dangerous — especially with her hands. In fact, all three of her victories have come by knockout or TKO.

“I know she is a striker, and I have watched a few of her matches, so I can tell she is very comfortable with her striking compared to grappling,” Teo says. “I think it will be an interesting match-up. It is my second time competing against a southpaw, so I have been working on a lot of angles from which to strike.”

For Teo, the name of the game is striking. Although the Singaporean strawweight is not afraid to use all of the latest tricks she has recently learned, she is yearning to get the first knockout win of her professional career.

“I am hoping to get a KO win,” she admits. “I have had submissions and a few unanimous decisions so far, even a TKO, so it will be nice to get a pure knockout.

“I have actually been saying that for a long time, but I have never been able to get it done. Hopefully this time around, I will.”