ONE CEO Chatri on Jingnan Xiong vs Weili Zhang – “Jingnan is the one to beat Weili”
Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong hosted a Facebook Live Q&A on Thursday and Sityodtong was asked to reveal his ‘dream match-up for women’s mixed martial arts.’ His reply was, “For women’s mixed martial arts I would love to see Jingnan Xiong vs Weili Zhang. I think Jingnan is the one to beat Weili Zhang.”
Weili Zhang defended her UFC Women’s Strawweight belt in an exceptional display of grit and high-level striking against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March. The fight was an instant classic that many are calling one of the best in MMA history. Conversely, Jingnan Xiong continued her rivalry with ONE Atomweight titlist Angela Lee. Xiong lost via submission tying the series up 1-1 between the two.
Prior to that defeat, Jingnan was on an incredible 9-fight winning streak. The other name mentioned by Sityodtong was the multi-sport phenom Stamp Fairtex. She became a double champion in ONE Championship by 22, winning world titles in Muay Thai and Kickboxing.
ONE VS UFC: Jingnan Xiong vs Weili Zhang
Despite losing her Kickboxing belt to Janet Todd in February, Stamp has her sights set on winning MMA gold. Fairtex showed off developments in her ground game with a submission victory over Asha Roka last year. “I think Stamp Fairtex could beat Weili Zhang as well. Stamp Fairtex against any female striker in the world or any female MMA fighter in the world. Even though she’s only 4-0 in MMA she’s a complete beast.”
Jingnan Xiong vs Weili Zhang is unfortunately little more than MMA message board fodder at this point. While a cross-promotion with the UFC remains unlikely, we have seen big promotions collaborate in recent times (ie/ Bellator and Rizin). Sityodtong made it clear that he’s open to the concept. “I would definitely like to see the best of the East vs the best of the West. UFC vs ONE Championship I think would be phenomenal, I think the whole entire world would watch it. And I’d love to see world champions vs world champions so definitely, for sure, I’m open to it.”