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No.1-ranked ONE bantamweight contender Fabricio Andrade believes Xiong Jing Nan will be the last woman standing in her trilogy bout with Angela Lee.
On Friday, September 30, ‘The Panda’ will once again put her ONE women’s strawweight world title on the line at ONE on Prime Video 2. The event will air live on US primetime via Amazon Prime Video.
While the shiny gold strap is prestigious, both Xiong and Lee are looking at the bigger picture. Whoever wins this will go down in the annals of history as the victor of arguably the most intense rivalry in women’s MMA.
Like the rest of us, Fabricio Andrade is curious to see who comes out on top when two of the best female fighters in the world lock horns for the third time. After all, they have already bested each other once in the two epic wars they were a part of in 2019.
Speaking to ONE Championship, ‘Wonder Boy’ analyzed the super fight and predicted that the 125-pound women’s world title will remain in China.
According to the Brazilian rising star, Xiong has developed a lot more since her last fight with Lee, and her full arsenal will be too overwhelming for the challenger. Andrade quipped:
“This will be a very close fight. We know that Angela Lee has the advantage on the ground and Xiong Jing Nan has the advantage in striking. But Xiong Jing Nan has been evolving a lot in MMA, and I believe she has a chance to surprise once again and win this fight.”
In hindsight, it’s tricky to predict who will win this one considering the similar nature of how Xiong and Lee finished each other in their first two encounters.
Both matches ended in the fifth round, with ‘The Panda’ handing Lee her first career loss by way of punishing strikes to the body. The Singaporean-American, on the other hand, evened the score by choking out Xiong in their rematch at atomweight.
Fabricio Andrade, though, seems to think that Xiong has Lee’s number and will shock the world anew.
Fabricio Andrade is hunting for gold against John Linekar
While ‘Wonderboy’ thinks there will be no changing of the guard at women’s strawweight, he hopes for a different outcome in his own quest for divisional supremacy.
After starching the competition en route to a five-fight winning streak, Fabricio Andrade will be looking to unseat newly crowned ONE bantamweight world champion John ‘Hands of Stone’ Lineker at ONE on Prime Video 3 next month.
In an exclusive interview with SCMP MMA, the supremely confident challenger said that the hard-hitting Brazilian will be in for a rude awakening. He shared:
“My striking is different from his striking. He doesn’t bring anything new for me, he just has punches and he’s slow. What I bring to this fight is a lot of skills, head movement, speed, footwork, and he’s not ready for that. He has never fought anyone like me in any promotion.”
