Xiong Jing Nan open to facing Tiffany Teo in a trilogy bout

Xiong Jing Nan may have expressed her desire to move to atomweight but she’s not yet closing the door on a potential third clash with No.1-ranked strawweight Tiffany Teo.

At ONE: Heavy Hitters, ‘The Panda’ cemented her dominance in the division by defeating No.4-ranked Ayaka Miura via a comprehensive unanimous decision victory. Teo, on her part, further stamped her claim to the strawweight division’s top spot with a second round submission of Meng Bo.

ONE women's strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan was victorious in the previous two meetings against Teo. However, 'The Panda' was pushed to the limit in their most recent fight, which was decided via split decision. To this day, Teo remains the only fighter to push Xiong close to defeat, and has consistently improved with every fight.

In a post-fight interview with South China Morning Post, Xiong was asked if she would consider a third fight with Teo at strawweight. Xiong answered through a translator saying:

“Of course I can fight Tiffany in a trilogy fight,” she said. “I accept all kinds of challenge. A fighter will be stronger after he or she loses a fight and come back stronger because of all the lessons [from the loss]. So yes, I can go trilogy with Tiffany Teo if Chatri [Sityodtong] approves.”

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Xiong Jing Nan could be the right fight at strawweight for Tiffany Teo

After her big win, Tiffany Teo called out every woman across all weight divisions in ONE Championship, but challenging Xiong Jing Nan could be the fight that keeps her in place.

Teo acknowledged that she would consider staying in the strawweight division if the right offer came around, saying the move to atomweight was anchored on the fact that she wanted to fight more in the future.

“I’m just hoping that I can fight more often. I’m hoping that I can get at least four fights in and that’s pretty much my new year’s resolution to fight as much as I can,” Tiffany Teo said.

Both Xiong Jing Nan and Tiffany Teo expressed their desire to move to atomweight, which was driven by a desire for more consistent competition. However, ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed that the promotion has welcomed new names to strawweight that will all be announced in due time.