“I’m not afraid” - Xiong Jing Nan not intimidated by mom-champ Angela Lee’s improved form

ONE strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan said she’s not intimidated by the new and improved version of Angela Lee.

The mom-champ recently defended her ONE women’s atomweight world title against Stamp Fairtex in a thrilling match that took place at ONE X in March. Lee’s source of motivation for her comeback victory was attributed to her one-year-old daughter, whom she shared the belt with inside the circle on that memorable night.

Many pundits and fans were doubtful of Lee’s ability to beat the Thai superstar after spending nearly two years on maternity leave, but not Xiong Jing Nan. The Chinese power striker always believed Lee would return stronger because she’s a mother and not despite being one. She told ONE:

“I was asked in a previous interview whether Angela Lee would be back to her original form after having a baby or whether her form might be bad. I said, ‘Definitely her form will be better than before because she’s in a new capacity as a mother. She’ll try harder to move forward and make herself a better role model for the child.’"

However happy Xiong is for the mom-champ, she’s taking emotion out of the equation to focus on bettering herself before meeting Lee inside the circle on September 30. At the end of the day, it’s business as usual for the 34-year-old striker:

“So she’s in a very, very good place right now. But, it’s okay. I’m not afraid. That’s why I’m trying to learn more and consolidate my weaknesses and then make my strong side stronger and take this match.”

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Xiong Jing Nan aiming for a finish at ONE on Prime Video 2

Xiong Jing Nan doesn’t want a re-run of her second match against Angela Lee. The Chinese native has put all her energy into learning from past mistakes to make sure Lee doesn’t get a submission finish again.

Xiong lost to the atomweight queen in her first attempt to become a two-division world champion in 2019. The fifth-round submission loss was a bitter pill to swallow after dominating the first few rounds.

With Angela Lee moving up a weight class to challenge her for the belt for a second time, the 34-year-old plans to stop Lee's dreams of becoming a two-division mom-champ with a “beautiful” knockout:

“Of course, I’d like to get the knockout and I want to give a KO in a beautiful way, but you have to know that no one can predict the outcome in the circle.”