"When we match up again, it’s going to be a different story" - Angela Lee feels she's improved more than Xiong Jing Nan did in the past few years

Angela Lee is undoubtedly one of the most dominant champions in ONE Championship history. However, that hasn't stopped her from wanting a world title in another weight class.

The 'mom champ' wants to reach the coveted double champion status and beat ONE women’s strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan in a potential third meeting.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Lee said that she’s a better fighter compared to what she was back in 2019 when she fought Xiong twice:

“I think that I have grown a lot more in these past few years and made a lot more improvements than she has, and I think it can show in our performances. So definitely, when we match up again, it’s going to be a different story, and I think everyone is eager to see it.”

Lee and Xiong split their first two meetings, with both fighters successfully defending their respective titles in the process. Interestingly, the two matches both ended in the fifth round and in the manner by which the two have achieved their notoriety.

Xiong took the first meeting via technical knockout to retain her ONE women’s strawweight world title in March 2019. Seven months later, Lee snatched a submission victory to defend her ONE women's atomweight world championship.

If Lee eventually beats Xiong, she would become the third MMA double champion in ONE Championship following Aung La N Sang, Martin Nguyen, and Reinier De Ridder.

The 25-year-old is ready for the challenge:

“I definitely want to capture the strawweight belt, so I’d love to fight Xiong again and step up to strawweight and try to capture that champ-champ status.”

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Angela Lee welcomes Ham Seo Hee’s title challenge

Before Angela Lee takes a crack at Xiong, she must first see off her next title challenge in Ham Seo Hee.

The South Korean veteran earned the title shot when she beat rival Denice Zamboanga at ONE X, the same card where Lee defended her strap against Stamp Fairtex in the main event.

'Unstoppable' knows it's not going to be easy:

“It was a tough fight [for Ham] in the last one. She competed on the same card as me, and I think she did all the right things to get the win. She’s tough. She fought through some adversity and found a way to win, so I think our skills match up really nicely. She’s an MMA veteran, so it would be great to fight her.”

Angela Lee added:

"Also, there’s a lot of atomweights in the division now, so I’d love to keep defending my title, but I’d like to see the strawweight division grow, just like the atomweight division has grown.”