Xiong Jing Nan Intends To Knock Out Angela Lee In Singapore

For the first time in ONE Championship history, the promotion’s two female titleholders will go head to head.

On Friday, 9 November, ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan (16-1) will defend her belt in a battle for the ages against ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee (9-0).

Xiong is aiming for her third successful title defense in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, but Lee’s plan is to stop her and become the first two-division women’s mixed martial arts World Champion.

It is a bout that has captured the imagination of the martial arts world ever since “The Panda” joined the promotion.

So far, she has been flawless inside the ONE cage. She stopped April Osenio in her debut at ONE: WARRIORS OF THE WORLD in December 2017, and then defeated the courageous Tiffany Teo to win the gold at ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE in January 2018.

Now, after back-to-back defenses, which includes a decision win over Laura Balin at ONE: PINNACLE OF POWER in June and an emphatic TKO of Samara Santos at ONE: BEYOND THE HORIZON in September, Xiong will finally welcome Lee back to strawweight.

“I’m very excited,” the 30-year-old Beijing, China native says. “I’m really looking forward to meeting her in the cage.”

Martial arts fans are likely to be just as amped up given the momentum and skill sets of both the champion and the challenger.

Lee has made three defenses of her atomweight crown, but now, in front of her compatriots, she is hoping their support will help her overcome the biggest obstacle of her career.

Xiong has a huge task in front of her, made even tougher because there is no blueprint to follow to defeat the Singaporean. The “Unstoppable” submission specialist is yet to be beaten in nine professional outings.

However, “The Panda’s” boxing background has helped her hit nine knockouts during her career, so her plan is to bring her striking to bear against the Evolve representative.

“Everybody knows that her BJJ and ground game is super,” the Chinese athlete says. “I need to KO her.”

Now preparing at Bali MMA in Indonesia, the Beijing native is striving to improve in all areas of her game so her striking is not the be-all and end-all.

She overcame the challenge from Argentina’s Balin, who was an experienced Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, but Xiong refuses to rest on her laurels as champion because Lee’s black belt skills are undeniably more advanced.

“The Panda” takes lessons from her victories. She knows she is not a finished product yet, but she will need to be as close to that as possible in order to defeat her 22-year-old rival.

“I’ve learned from my recent bouts that I still have so many things that can be improved. I am especially focused on my weak points,” she reveals.

As the biggest match-up in ONE women’s history looms, Xiong admits the scale of the occasion has given her some extra nerves, but more than anything, it is giving her the motivation to succeed.

She is deep in preparation, and knowing she has to face the promotion’s most successful women’s athlete keeps her sharp and determined.

Lee is one of ONE’s most popular superstars and now, she will be challenging for a second belt in front of her loyal fans, who will be cheering her on as the underdog works toward a fairytale result in her homeland.

However, “The Panda” is determined to spoil the party in Singapore. As the defending World Champion, she has a message for her challenger.

“Once, you mentioned you will KO me,” Xiong says. “Well, let’s see in the cage.”