“I’m Improving and Changing” – China’s First Female MMA World Champion Xiong Jing Nan Believes Evolution in Her Game Will Catch Angela Lee by Surprise

“The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan has been a dominant force in ONE Championship’s women’s strawweight division ever since her debut in the promotion in 2017. 

The Chinese superstar is unbeaten in the cutthroat weight class and has held the World Title for four years, having won the inaugural belt in only her second appearance in the Circle.

Despite her jaw-dropping form, Xiong thinks that she is still evolving as an athlete, and she plans to showcase her new set of skills when in her return to action against atomweight queen “Unstoppable” Angela Lee at ONE on Prime Video 2 on September 30. 

Xiong Jing Nan offers Angela Lee is up for a surprise

Xiong has defended her gold on seven occasions, and she is on a three-fight win streak. Next Friday’s main event tussle will be the third time she has met Lee. Both superstars have put their gold on the line in the fabled rivalry, and the series currently sits at 1-1.

Ahead of the much-anticipated rubber match, “The Panda” is insistent that, though Lee may be quite familiar with her in action, she will be presenting a different opponent to her this time.

“I’m sure everyone is looking forward to it, including me and Angela Lee. I believe that she knows me very well, and I know her very well,” she said.

“But I’m happy that I’m not the same Xiong Jing Nan. I’m improving and changing. So, I think it will be a very, very good match to watch.”

Describing it as a good match might be an understatement. Xiong and Lee have given everything they have in their first two bouts, and both have ended with fifth-round finishes in favor of the respective defending World Champion.

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“The Panda” scored a fifth-round finish over the United MMA and Evolve MMA product in their initial showdown, and “Unstoppable” even the scores with a late submission six months later.

Xiong Jing Nan does not rule out another hard-fought battle

The Chinese athlete expects another strong performance from “Unstoppable.” But if the stars are aligned, she admits that she would love to close out this tie with an enigmatic finish.

“Of course, I’d like to get the knockout, and I want to give a KO in a beautiful way. But you have to know that no one can predict the outcome in the Circle,” she shared.

Xiong is confident in her ability to get the job done against her heated rival, but she refuses to cancel out Lee threat, especially after her dominant comeback performance against Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex at ONE X in March. 

Nonetheless, she warns that the best is yet to come from her, and she will never flinch away from going toe-to-toe with Lee when the World Title tussle gets underway.

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“She’s in a very, very good place right now. But it’s okay. I’m not afraid. That’s why I’m trying to learn more, consolidate my weaknesses and then make my strong side stronger and take this match,” Xiong said.