At ONE: A New Era in Tokyo, which marked the first ONE Championship in Japan, ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee moved up a weight class to battle ONE Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan in a bid to become the first female two-division champion in the promotion’s history.
This bout was originally expected to occur at ONE: Heart of the Lion in Singapore in November of 2018, but was unfortunately postponed when Angela Lee was forced out of the bout with a back injury. After this delay, anticipation for this bout was extra high.
This long-awaited showdown went down as a thrilling striker versus grappler matchup, as Xiong looked to get to work with her striking, and Lee looked impose her will on the mat.
Over the course of this fight, both women had their moments, as Xiong had some real success at boxing range, and Lee landed multiple takedowns and threatened with submissions on the mat.
Angela Lee very nearly finished the fight in the fourth round, locking up a triangle and threatening with an armbar for upward of two minutes. Lee would wind up paying for this near finish, however, as she entered the fifth round with no gas left in the tank.
It was at this point that Xiong Jing Nan cranked up the offense, pummelling Lee’s body and head with punches and kicks until the referee could watch no more.
The official time of this title-retaining TKO from Xiong Jing Nan was 1:37 of the fifth round.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/31/2019.