Packed One Championship Macau card sees ‘The Panther’ and ‘The Panda’ planning for future super bouts

Xiong (11-1) was quizzed about a potential future match-up with One Championship’s atomweight champion and the organisation’s poster girl Angela Lee after the Hawaii-native claimed on social media that she would be stepping up to strawweight following her recent hard-fought win over long-time rival Mei Yamaguchi.

And although “The Panda” didn’t have too much to say at a meet and greet this week, she made it clear she was already looking beyond her opponent on Saturday night, Argentina’s Laura Balin (10-2).

“I didn’t do much research on her because I don’t like to do that,” said Xiong. “It depends on what happens in the cage. My tactics will change every minute depending on my opponent. She is older than me and has more experience. But I think I can take her, no problem.”

Asked about her next step following a successful first defence of her strap, the 30-year old replied cryptically: “I don’t have any idea about whether I will compete with Angela Lee. After this fight, maybe I will change my mind.”