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Former two-time ONE women’s strawweight world title challenger Tiffany Teo said she learned a lot about herself in her first world title loss against Xiong Jing Nan.
On the eve of Teo’s upcoming bout with wrestling world champion Ritu ‘The Indian Tigress’ Phogat at ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai, ‘No Chill’ reflected on one of the best turning points of her career, which has led her to this moment.
Speaking to ONE Championship, Teo discussed how her first loss against Xiong Jing Nan back in 2018 motivated her to go back to the drawing board and focus on her shortcomings:
“The first time I faced Xiong, I wasn’t ready as a fighter yet. I feel like I was really raw as a fighter when I met Xiong the first time. Even though I lost, I’m glad that I had that experience because it made me realize that I had all these loopholes in my game and how incomplete I was as an MMA fighter.
I felt that was the fight I needed to make me realize the things I had to work on. It was a rude awakening, I would say. I feel like some fighters might not even come back after that loss.”
Following her first match with Xiong, Teo rebounded by getting two consecutive wins to earn her spot against Xiong once again. Despite a heroic attempt to capture the belt, Teo lost for a second time to the Chinese power striker in October 2020.
Between 2020-2021, the Singapore native experienced one of the darkest moments of her life when she was diagnosed with a rare skin condition which forced her to pause her fighting career. Nearly hanging up her gloves in 2021, Teo returned to the ring earlier this year to face seasoned MMA fighter Meng Bo. Tiffany Teo did what she did best and shocked the world with a spectacular rear naked choke in the second round.
Tiffany Teo foresees a knockout finish over Ritu Phogat at ONE 161
'No Chill' is coming off a submission finish over Meng Bo, and she’s ready to do the same to Ritu Phogat on September 29. Teo wants to keep the momentum alive while the iron’s still hot, but it will be a tough challenge against ‘The Indian Tigress’ who is hungry to get back in the win column.
Understanding the threat Phogat poses with her wrestling, Tiffany Teo may try to end the fight on the feet even though she’s comfortable scrapping with her on the ground.
However, speaking to Combat Press recently, Tiffany Teo made it clear she’s going for a quick knockout:
“I foresee a finish later in the rounds. Everyone loves the finish, so I’m going to go for it and hopefully get the $50,000 bonus.”
