ONE women’s strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan will put her striking skills on show once more at “ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham” on September 29.
“The Panda” is set to throw down in a special rules striking bout with Nat “Wondergirl” Jaroonsak when ONE Championship returns to the Singapore Indoor Stadium, with the fighters allowed to throw hand strikes only while wearing four-ounce gloves.
Despite her muay Thai credentials, Jaroonsak will have a mountain to climb against Xiong, who is one of the world’s most ferocious female strikers.
To get you hyped for her return, we’ve laid out three of the Chinese superstar’s best finishes in ONE.
1. April Osieno at “ONE: Warriors of the World”
Xiong entered the ONE Championship ranks to much fanfare in 2017, and the anticipation for her debut was vindicated when she dismantled April Osenio inside one round at “ONE: Warriors of the World.”
After some tense opening exchanges, Osenio miraculously survived a tight guillotine choke from the former China Open BJJ champion.
But it would only delay the inevitable.
Once the pair returned to the feet, Xiong crumbled her Filipino foe with a wild flurry of punches to launch what would become a historic career in ONE.
2. Tiffany Teo I at “ONE: Kings of Courage”
Xiong’s impressive debut landed her a shot at the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title opposite ultra-tough Singaporean standout Tiffany Teo at “ONE: Kings of Courage” in 2018.
The Evolve MMA representative showed her class once more as she battered her opponent with a well-rounded striking arsenal and took her to the ground again and again.
After almost four rounds of dominance, a crushing four-punch combination from Xiong saw Teo fall to canvas, where she was saved further punishment by the referee.
And so, the reign of “The Panda” atop the women’s strawweight MMA ranks began.
3. Samara Santos at “ONE: Beyond the Horizon”
It was a rough night at the office for Samara Santos when she stepped in to challenge Xiong for her crown at “ONE: Beyond the Horizon” in September 2018.
After winning and defending it successfully all in the span of six months, “The Panda” wanted to close out her year in style, and she did that – thanks to her ruthless striking.
Xiong was in control from the start, and the intense pressure she put on her foes finally took its toll in the third round, when a hard right hand caused Santos to wave a hand in surrender and sink to the canvas.
The world champion showed class and awareness by pulling her follow-up punch to avoid inflicting unnecessary damage on her stricken foe, and she secured her second defense of the coveted belt with the impressive victory.
