“Underdog” Angela Lee Plans To Defeat Xiong Jing Nan Quickly

“Unstoppable” Angela Lee (9-0) understands the magnitude of the challenge she is about to take.

On Friday, 9 November, the reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion will move up a weight class in an attempt to become the first two-division women’s World Champion in the promotion.

The 22-year-old will challenge strawweight queen “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan (16-1) for her belt in the main event of ONE: HEART OF THE LION at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

As high as the anticipation is for this World Champion versus World Champion showdown among fans across the globe, there is no one more excited for this bout than Lee.

The undefeated Singaporean realizes she is entering this tilt as the dark horse, but she believes she can rise above the odds and make history.

“I think it’s a fan-favorite fight with two female fighters matching up – champion versus champion,” she says.

“I think her style of being very aggressive and me stepping up in weight [has people thinking], ‘Oh, she’s going to get knocked out,’ or, ‘She’s going to be too small for her.’ But I don’t think that’s the case at all.

“Everyone is saying I’m more of an underdog in this fight, and I’m embracing it. It doesn’t matter if I’m going to be in the red corner or the blue corner. All that matters is, at the end of the night, I’m going to have gold around my waist.”

Lee has been dominant ever since she made her professional mixed martial arts debut in May 2015.

Within a year of her first bout, she recorded five consecutive stoppage victories, and then defeated Mei “V.V.” Yamaguchi via unanimous decision to claim the inaugural atomweight crown.

Since she captured the title, “Unstoppable” has successfully defended it on three occasions – in her most recent win, she dispatched Yamaguchi for the second time via decision in another thrilling five-round encounter.

While she waits for a new challenger to emerge, moving up a weight class will present Lee with a new kind of challenge, but she is not forgetting about the atomweight division and her duty to defend the belt she already carries over her shoulder.

In fact, she believes this assignment will ultimately help her efforts to maintain her status in that particular weight class.

“Strawweight is just an opportunity for me to compete more and stay more active in both divisions,” Lee explains.

“Staying so active will help me keep my weight to a healthier number to compete at atomweight, and not need eight weeks to prepare and really cut down because, honestly, that was a really big struggle for me.

“Every time a fight came, it was so stressful thinking about that. With strawweight, it’s a chance for me to fight more in my natural division and to feel stronger.”

Lee’s move up in weight will see her face the most dangerous opponent of her career in Xiong, a well-rounded mixed martial artist who has a professional boxing background, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt, and an ever-improving wrestling game.

Since joining ONE Championship in December, “The Panda” has won all four of her promotional bouts, including three by way of knockout.

Also, she claimed the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title in January by defeating Tiffany “No Chill” Teo via fourth-round TKO.

Lee respects the Chinese knockout artist’s skills, but she believes she can become the first person to finish Xiong.

“I acknowledge her power and I respect it,” the Singaporean adds.

“I think her strength lies in her striking, but I think we’ve made the perfect game plan to deal with this in all kinds of scenarios.

“I think we found the fastest, most efficient way to take her out, and I’m looking forward to implementing my game plan. I think she won’t be able to stop it. She won’t have an answer for it.”

Although some people consider the Chinese powerhouse to be the favorite, it has only motivated Lee even more in her quest to become the first two-division ONE Women’s World Champion in history.

By doing so, and in emphatic fashion, Lee would cement her spot as the greatest female competitor ever to set foot in the ONE cage.

“I want to have a performance of a lifetime,” she states.

“I want people to say, ‘Wow, no one can touch Angela, she’s the baddest female fighter right now.’ I look forward to going out there and proving to everyone why I’m the best female fighter in this organization.”