Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, Chatri Sityodtong hosted a Facebook Live Q&A on Thursday as fans were invited to send in questions on a variety of topics ranging from potential free-agent signings to The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.
During the candid session which lasted almost 40 minutes, Sityodtong was asked to reveal his ‘dream match-up for women’s mixed martial arts.’ His reply described what would certainly be the biggest bout in the history of Asian mixed martial arts and a landmark moment for the sport’s growth in China.
“For women’s mixed martial arts I would love to see Xiong Jing Nan versus Zhang Weili. I think Jing Nan is the one to beat Zhang Weili,” Sityodtong said.
Both competitors have taken part in some of the most iconic contests in the history of women’s mixed martial arts, especially in recent times. Zhang defended her women’s strawweight title in an exceptional display of grit and high-level striking against former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in March. The bout was an instant classic.
Xiong, meanwhile, continued her epic rivalry with ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee back in October. In a follow-up to her memorable win against Lee in Japan in 2019, ‘The Panda’ lost via submission in the final seconds of a pulsating affair to tie-up their rivalry at one win apiece.
Before that loss to Lee, Xiong was on an incredible 9-bout winning streak, establishing herself as one of the very best in the world.
Incidentally, Lee was another name put forward by the ONE boss when considering dream match-ups.
“I think Angela Lee versus any atomweight in the world. Angela Lee is incredible. I’ve seen her in training. I’ve seen her go into a bout with pneumonia with doctor’s advice not to compete and I tried my best to stop the fight. Angela Lee’s an absolute warrior and she’s just a genius on the ground,” Sityodtong recalled.
Lee is one of the biggest stars in women’s mixed martial arts and is likely to be back in action defending her atomweight crown against Filipino challenger Denice Zamboanga in the near future.
The other name mentioned by Sityodtong was the supremely-talented Stamp Fairtex. The Thai became a two-sport ONE World Champion by the time she was just 22 years-old, winning world titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing.
Despite losing her kickboxing belt to Janet Todd in February, Stamp has her sights set on winning mixed martial arts gold before too long, and showed off the rapid evolution of her ground game with a submission victory over India’s Asha Roka last year.
“I think Stamp Fairtex could beat Zhang Weili 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,” said Sityodtong.
While cross-promotion with other major mixed martial arts organizations remains unlikely at this point, we have seen big promotions collaborate in recent times with Rizin and Bellator co-promoting a show together in 2019. Sityodtong has made it very clear that he’s open to the concept.
“I would definitely like to see the best of the East versus the best of the West. UFC versus ONE Championship I think would be phenomenal, I think the whole entire world would watch it. And I’d love to see world champions versus world champions so definitely, for sure, I’m open to it,” said Sityodtong.
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