One Championship: Bi Nguyen is hell bent on proving she belongs – and chasing down the title

A former star of US TV show Survivor, Bi Nguyen returns for her second fight with the Asian MMA organisation on Friday in Kuala Lumpur

The Vietnamese-American looks to show she’s more than just a famous name – ‘every fight they give me I’m going to take out the competition’

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Bi Nguyen poses at the open workout in Kuala Lumpur. Photos: One Championship

Published: 10:07am, 10 Jul 2019Updated: 10:08am, 10 Jul 2019

Bi Nguyen is clearly becoming a dependable name and face for One Championship, having already achieved fame as a competitor on hit US television show Survivor last year. But don’t let her celebrity status fool you.

“Killer Bee” steps back in the One Championship Circle on Friday to take on Myanmar’s Bozhena “Toto” Antoniyar at One: Masters of Destiny in Kuala Lumpur on July 12, on the back of a successful debut in Manila that took her record to 5-3.

And the 29-year-old Vietnamese-American, an atomweight who trains out of Jackson-Wink MMA in Alberquerque, New Mexico, made it clear she is chasing down a title shot – and has no intention of just being a famous name.

“How long I take to achieve that is totally up to One and when they give me that opportunity, but every fight they give me I’m going to accept and take out the competition, and prove to them that I belong here,” Nguyen told the Post at an open workout in Malaysia on Tuesday. “I think my record matches up with the best of them now, but I am new to One Championship so I will be patient and keep fighting my best.”

As for her name value, Nguyen is always happy to be counted as one of the rising stars – in the ring and outside it – in the Asian MMA organisation.

“I love it, I love any platform not for myself but really for my message, and to just represent for young girls in these countries that you can be an athlete and not just a wife and you can train and compete with the best of them,” she said. “I love to add value to One Championship because who wouldn’t want to make their boss happy? It’s been a good ride and I’m enjoying it.”