Lea Bivins Excited For ONE Championship Debut After Frustrating False Start
Lea Bivins was disappointed when her first ONE Championship fight was canceled on late notice, but she is using that situation as fuel for her upcoming encounter.
This Friday, October 21, the American phenom will face fellow debutant Noelle Grandjean in an atomweight MMA bout at ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade, and she’s hoping to make up for lost time with an impressive performance.
“First Moon” was originally scheduled to battle Indian athlete Zeba Bano at ONE 159 in July.
However, Bano missed weight and then withdrew from the matchup, which was a huge letdown for the American.
But while Bivins did not get to compete at the event, she still learned from the overall experience and believes it will help her in the long run.
The 20-year-old said:
“Fight week was exciting. It was nice to be able to check out the whole production. That’s the bright side of everything. I was really confident during the fight week.
“So I’m excited this time because it looks like they gave me a better grade of [opponent]. Every fighter wants to go on there and put on a [good] fight, so I’m excited for that.
“As far as me fighting Zeba again, if the matchmakers did offer it, of course I would take it because I want to beat her face. But as of right now, I’m just looking for better opponents.”
While she was unhappy with Bano’s withdrawal, Bivins is full of praise for Grandjean, and the two women share some similarities.
Both athletes grew up in martial arts families and have honed their skills for many years, so they should be well-prepared for their respective debuts this Friday.
Meanwhile, “Full Moon” has paid close attention to her opponent’s arsenal – and she’s worked hard to find counters for the judo and Muay Thai skills that Grandjean will bring to the Circle.
Bivins said:
“Yeah, I’ve watched all her fights, actually a bunch of times. I’ve been on her Instagram this whole fight camp, kind of stalking her and watching what she does.
“It looks like her strength is more of in stand-up, I would say. So obviously, we’ve got to watch out for her Muay Thai. I’ve been working on Muay Thai myself.
“And it seems like she’s also very good at judo. I think that she was a judo black belt. It looks like she had some throws so we’ve just been working some counters, and a lot of ground game, not really leaving out any sort of martial arts aspect.”
Lea Bivins Wants To Shine On Prime Video
Another silver lining for Lea Bivins is that her ONE Championship debut will now kick off ONE on Prime Video 3, which her fans can watch live in U.S. primetime.
The massive streaming platform attracts millions of viewers, and “First Moon” is thrilled at the opportunity to get things started.
She said:
“It’s definitely exciting being on Prime Video. I’m very grateful for the company to be able to offer it to me – I know a lot of debutants don’t get to be on the Prime Video card. It is exciting too because everybody watches Prime.”
With so many eyeballs on her this Friday, Bivins can’t wait to perform inside the Circle and hopes to delight those viewers watching around the world.
She’ll take the victory by any means possible, but she also wants to deliver a memorable moment – preferably a highlight-reel finish.
She added:
“I definitely want to showcase all my skills. But because I wasn’t able to debut my skills last time, it’s more exciting to just be able to go out there and showcase anything at this point. So I’m more excited for the fight itself.
“I definitely want to end this fight with my hand getting raised, however I’ve got to do it. I would love to get a TKO.”
