ONE Championship: Angela Lee, Xiong Jingnan set for high-stakes trilogy as CEO Chatri Sityodtong predicts ‘someone gets finished’
- Atomweight champion Lee will challenge China’s Xiong for the strawweight belt at ONE on Prime Video 2 this Saturday in Singapore
- Both women undaunted by pressure to win as Chatri calls fight ‘the most anticipated trilogy in the history of ONE’
Angela Lee and Xiong Jingnan were all business at Wednesday’s ONE Championship on Prime Video 2 pre-fight press conference in Singapore.
The pair, ONE’s atomweight and strawweight champions respectively, will collide in the card’s headlining attraction this Saturday in the Lion City.
It will be the third time they’ve met in the ONE Circle, having scored a win apiece in two gruelling fights in Tokyo in 2019, and both are determined to end the series decisively.
“I hope to bring an interesting fight this coming Saturday,” China’s Xiong told reporters at the press conference.
“I’m very excited for our third match-up,” the Canadian-American Lee echoed. “It’s been three years, and I know that we’ve both improved since then and I’m excited to step in the cage and test ourselves and see who’s going to come out on top.”
Lee, 26, and Xiong, 34, first met in March 2019. On that night, Lee (11-2) challenged her rival for the strawweight title in a bid to become the first female two-division champion in ONE history. She put forth a gutsy effort, threatening with several submissions, but was hurt by a body shot in round five and stopped by punches soon after.
The pair then fought again the following October. The second time around, Xiong (17-2) dropped down to atomweight, challenging Lee for a second title in her own bid to make history. But the atomweight queen had other plans, scoring a fifth-round submission in another back-and-forth fight.