MMA fighting Panda has China’s first world title in her sights

Xiong “The Panda” Jingnan has been tucked away in Phuket and trying to focus on fine tuning her craft but it has been impossible for the 30-year-old Chinese fighter not to think of the bigger picture.

On Saturday, January 20, Xiong (10-1) steps into the cage at the Jakarta Convention Centre to face Singapore’s Tiffany “No Chill” Teo (7-0) for the inaugural One Championship women’s world strawweight championship.

Victory would see Xiong become the first Chinese fighter to claim a world title with Asia’s leading mixed martial arts promotion and the ramifications, she says, would be massive.

“I know how much the fight means to me and means to China,” says Xiong. “To become the first One world champion from China would be a kind of miracle. It is up to me to bring ‘China power’ to a whole new level and to show an international audience just how good Chinese fighters are.

“There are a lot of Chinese women coming through and I want to inspire them and to show them what we can achieve. I want to pay back all my fans who have supported me on this journey, no matter what.”

It’s mid-morning when we talk and Xiong is still a little hazy from sleep after another day of workouts with the famed Phuket Top Team who have been putting the Beijing-based fighter through her paces in the lead up to her clash with the 28-year-old Teo.

There have been visits by Chinese and international media – and a growing sense of awareness back home about just who Xiong is and what she could achieve come Saturday night – but the trip to Thailand for fight camp has allowed Xiong to remove herself somewhat from the madness that builds before each and every world title fight. And Xiong is under no illusions when it comes to the task ahead.