“I have to say I’m a little bit soft” - Xiong Jing Nan admits to showing compassion for opponents

Xiong Jing Nan was recently criticized by Chatri Sityodtong for the “lack of killer instinct” in her recent fights. This comes on the back of her shutout unanimous decision win over Ayaka Miura at ONE: Heavy Hitters last Friday.

The reigning ONE women’s strawweight world champion successfully defended her title for a record sixth time this past weekend. However, Sityodtong said that he was disappointed in Xiong’s performance during the post-fight media scrum.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post after the fight, Xiong reacted to Sityodtong’s comments. Surprisingly, she agreed with the ONE CEO’s sentiments, saying:

"I want to clear one thing up. I’m aged. I’m much wiser, and more mature. I have to say I’m a little bit soft. I don’t have the heart to finish my opponents because I’m kind of afraid I will injure them, and I will worry about that, because maybe they cannot fight in the next event."

She added:

"I respect all my opponents, especially my previous opponent Michelle Nicolini. I just didn’t have the heart to finish her, and it was the same reason tonight. I respect Ayaka-san too. She’s a tremendous fighter, so I don’t want to injure her too. Even though she trash talked me before the fight, I don’t care, I still respect her."

Watch her full interview below:

Xiong Jing Nan is one of the most dominant champions in MMA right now. The Chinese fighter boasts a professional record of 17-2. She won the strawweight title following her win over Tiffany Teo in 2018 and has been defending it ever since. Her last three title defenses have been unanimous decision victories.

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Xiong Jing Nan will have new challengers at strawweight very soon

Xiong Jing Nan has been the dominant force in the ONE Championship strawweight division for the past three years. She's successfully swept the competition now that she's beaten Ayaka Miura, having defeated the top 5 ranked fighters in the weight class.

With no fighters left to challenge, she may have to move up in weight, transition to kickboxing or even fight Angela Lee in a trilogy bout.

However, Chatri Sityodtong sees 'The Panda' staying at strawweight. He recently confirmed that the organization has signed new fighters for the division. The ONE CEO told reporters following the conclusion of last week's event:

"I think people want to see the trilogy fight between Xiong Jing Nan and Angela. I will say we have signed a bunch of world-class strawweights, it’s a real contender type of material... We signed and announced several incredible female athletes in the straightweight division. She has cleaned out the current strawweights but there is a whole army of new world-class strawweights that will be a handful for Jing Nan."

With those comments in mind, fans will certainly be looking forward to seeing who Xiong Jing Nan's next opponent will be.