“We know her very well” - Ken Lee believes they are all geared up for preparations against Xiong Jing Nan

Familiarity breeds contempt, but Ken Lee believes it will lead to a better game plan for his eldest daughter Angela.

The ONE women’s atomweight world champion will be heading into her third fight against Xiong Jing Nan and challenge the Chinese star for the ONE women’s strawweight world title at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee III.

The trilogy bout between the two world champions is the main event of ONE Championship’s second Amazon Prime Video card on September 30, US primetime, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Ken Lee said Angela’s third fight against Xiong allows them to devise a perfect game plan to stop 'The Panda' in her tracks.

The Lee family patriarch added that preparing Angela for her fight against Xiong would be similar to how he trained his son Christian for his rematch against Ok Rae Yoon for the ONE lightweight world title:

“Preparing for Xiong will be much the same as preparing for Ok, and we’ve had two camps preparing for Xiong. We’ve had 10 rounds working with her already, so we know her very well. We know her game very well, as she should know Angela’s game very well. But I think it’s one of those things. It’s a great matchup for Angela.”

Angela and Xiong are 1-1 in their head-to-head matchups, but both of those wins came in their respective divisions.

Xiong successfully retained the ONE women’s strawweight world title when she knocked out Lee in the fifth round of their match at ONE: A New Era in March 2019 in Tokyo.

Just seven months later, and in the same city, no less, Angela exacted revenge. Angela submitted Xiong in the fifth round at ONE: Century Part I in October 2019 and retained the ONE women’s atomweight world title.

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Ken Lee describes Christian Lee’s ascent

Fathers will always praise their sons, but coaches may not do as much.

Ken Lee, however, is both the father and coach to his son Christian. The guiding voice within the family knows that the ‘The Warrior’ is on a different plane of mixed martial arts existence.

In a previous interview with ONE Championship, Lee said that his son operates on a level rarely seen in the sport. Ken Lee added that it’s not just Christian’s physical gifts that make him unique, but it’s his son’s intellect that drives him forward.

“He’s a special athlete and a special martial artist. What makes him different on a technical level is that he has the ability to not just perform at an elite level in every range of mixed martial arts – from the striking, the wrestling, to the jiu-jitsu – but his intellect. His ability to transition from range to range flawlessly really is much more mature than a lot of fighters who’ve been doing it a lot longer."