Tiffany Teo says Xiong Jing Nan is fully equipped to defeat Angela Lee in highly anticipated trilogy fight

Former two-time strawweight contender Tiffany Teo has picked a side and she’s not rooting for Angela Lee.

In one of the most anticipated trilogies of the year, Xiong Jing Nan will put her world title on the line once again as 'Unstoppable' makes her second attempt to capture the strawweight crown and become the first female two-division world champion.

With the pair so evenly matched, it’s difficult to say which fighter has made better improvements to their overall game since the last time they met inside the circle.

As someone who has fought against Xiong Jing Nan on two separate occasions, Tiffany Teo can tell you that the Chinese standout is a real threat to Angela Lee. Speaking to ONE Championship about their upcoming firefight, ‘No Chill’ explained the reason why she believes Xiong has the edge:

“I’m leaning more towards Xiong. Just looking at her evolution as an MMA fighter, I feel like over the years, Xiong has improved her skill set – not just in terms of striking, but also in terms of her grappling, her takedown defense. The past few fights that she has taken against Michelle [Nicolini] and Ayaka [Miura], they are stylistically closer to Angela in the sense that they are all grapplers.”

According to Teo, most grapplers like Angela Lee, eventually return to the same predictable game plan as before. With that said, she believes Xiong has prepared herself well for what comes ahead.

“They all have that one game plan to take you down and to put you on the ground to do damage or to get the submission. So, I think Xiong is very comfortable with this style of fighting, and she has developed a skill set to address the threats that Angela might bring against her in terms of grappling or the takedowns.”

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Tiffany Teo’s grappling skills are seriously underrated

When you think of Tiffany Teo, you wouldn’t associate her as a grappler.

The Singapore native is considered to be one of the finest mixed martial artists in the world for her all-encompassing skillset. Not only is she proficient on the feet, but she’s also dangerous on the ground, a fact which still surprises fans.

At ONE: Heart of a Lion, for instance, Teo made an eight-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion look inadequate against her strong defensive ground game. During the match, Teo was unafraid to fight Michelle Nicolini on the canvas and oftentimes found herself reversing the Brazilian’s attacks, which energized her home crowd.

At the just-concluded ONE 161, 'No Chill' once again showed how dangerous she is by outworking wrestling champion Ritu Phogat on the ground and securing an impressive win via rear-naked choke.

Following her victory, Tiffany Teo called out another fighter who will test her skills on the ground - Angela Lee. It will be interesting to finally see two of the most well-known women in ONE Championship finally share the circle in a match for the ages.