11 October 2018 – The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced additional bouts for ONE: HEART OF THE LION set for Friday, 9 November at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. In the main event, reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of China will defend her title against ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee of Singapore in one of two epic World Champion vs. World Champion super-bouts on the evening. In the co-main event, reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil will defend his title against ONE Interim Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon of the Philippines in a highly-anticipated bantamweight title unification bout.
Ticket information for ONE: HEART OF THE LION is available at www.onefc.com.
“The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan began her career competing in professional boxing, and she was originally inspired to pick up the sport by her father, who imparted in her values of courage and integrity. Featuring a wide array of skills, she bagged a gold medal at the prestigious China Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in 2017. Since winning the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship this past January, the Beijing, China native has made two successful title defenses. In her most recent bout, she defeated Samara Santos of Brazil to successfully retain her title and push her record to 16-1. Up next, the 30-year-old travels to Singapore to defend her championship against Angela Lee.
“Unstoppable” Angela Lee is considered one of ONE Championship’s most outstanding athletes. The Singaporean captured the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship with an awe-inspiring victory over Mei Yamaguchi in May 2016, and she has since defended the title successfully on multiple occasions. Lee’s beautiful combination of elite striking and grappling has proven to be a potent formula for success, as she has remained undefeated in her career. In her most recent bout, she beat Yamaguchi once again, showcasing her wide array of skills en route to a unanimous decision victory. Lee is now set to challenge Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship.
38-year-old Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil is the reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion, and widely considered one of the best martial artists in the world bar none. He made his ONE Championship debut back in 2012 and captured the bantamweight world title in 2013. Since then, Fernandes has remained unbeaten inside the ONE Championship cage, showcasing tremendous striking and grappling ability and an unwavering will to win. In his most recent bout, Fernandes defeated two-division titleholder Martin Nguyen by split decision in a World Champion vs. World Champion super-bout. In his next title defense, Fernandes is set to face interim champion Kevin Belingon in a highly-anticipated bantamweight title unification bout.
31-year-old Filipino superstar Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon of Team Lakay hails from Kiangan, Ifugao province. He made his professional cage debut in 2007, winning his first nine bouts while capturing a local flyweight title. After joining ONE Championship in 2012, Belingon put together a series of tremendous performances, including several highlight-reel finishes, to earn a shot at ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano Fernandes in early 2016. Although Belingon failed to capture the title, he has since been on a warpath back to world title contention, putting together a sensational win streak which includes huge knockout wins over several former world title challengers. In his most recent outing, Belingon scored one of the biggest wins of his career, defeating two-division ONE World Champion Martin Nguyen to become the ONE Interim Bantamweight World Champion. Up next for Belingon is a bantamweight title unification bout against Bibiano Fernandes.
32-year-old Giorgio Petrosyan of Italy is known as “The Doctor” due to the surgical precision of his strikes. He is considered by many to be the greatest kickboxer of his generation. Petrosyan began his professional Muay Thai career at the age of 16 competing between bantamweight and middleweight, winning multiple titles across each division. He sports a professional kickboxing record of 97-2-2, 1NC and is known for his incredible six-year 42-bout win streak which is considered one of the most dominant reigns in middleweight history. Petrosyan returns to action in a ONE Super Series Kickboxing contest against Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy.
25-year-old Thai kickboxer Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy is one of Thailand’s best Muay Thai practitioners in the modern era. A former Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion, Sorgraw sports a kickboxing record of 36-17, and made a successful ONE Super Series debut last June when he marched to a majority decision over Samy Sana of France. Featuring fiery combinations and superb defense, Sorgraw is now looking forward to further testing his skills in ONE Super Series. He faces the renowned Giorgio Petrosyan in his next assignment.
Alex “Little Rock” Silva of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is a third-degree black belt and Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion feared for his relentless pursuit of submission finishes. He is a technical grappling specialist with a penchant for securing highlight-reel submissions. With steadily increasing confidence, Silva is a winner of six of his last seven bouts, the majority of which have ended with submissions. He defeated Yoshitaka Naito in December 2017 to capture the ONE Strawweight World Championship, but surrendered the title in a rematch months later. Now, Silva is looking to retrace his steps to return to title contention, but he must get past his next challenge which comes against Pongsiri Mitsatit.
Chiang Mai Muay Thai Champion Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit hails from the North East of Thailand and was raised in humble surroundings. After repeated encounters with childhood bullying, Mitsatit decided to pick up Muay Thai to learn how to protect himself. Through his hard work and talent, he soon ran up an impressive 72-17 record, and even won a Muay Thai championship in the process. Mitsatit then made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2014, and has since rapidly emerged as one of Thailand’s most exciting talents. At just 22 years of age, Mitsatit already holds a stellar professional record, including several TKO wins in ONE Championship. Now training at the prestigious Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Mitstatit will see action next against former champion Alex Silva.
Multiple-time No Gi BJJ World Champion Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon of New Jersey, USA began his martial arts career as a wrestler, competing extensively throughout grade school. He was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age 14, enrolling at Tom DeBlass’ Ocean County BJJ and became one of DeBlass’ most dedicated students. He won his first BJJ world title in 2008 in the juvenile blue belt division. Today, he is one of the world’s most decorated grapplers, having won multiple tournaments across the globe. He is a former IBJJF World Champion, two-time IBJJF World No-Gi Champion, and four-time Eddie Bravo Invitational Champion. He made his professional mixed martial arts debut in early 2018, stopping Filipino Richard Corminal by second-round TKO. Tonon now makes his way back to face Sung Jong Lee in his third ONE Championship bout.
Sung Jong Lee of Cheonan, South Korea, is a 33-year-old mixed martial artist who competes and showcases his skills in the talented lightweight division of ONE Championship. A former NAGA No Gi Grappling Champion, Lee holds a professional record of 4-2 in the cage. Always looking to finish on the mat, Lee is a dangerous grappler who is capable of ending matches in a variety of ways. Making his ONE Championship debut last May in Singapore, Lee fell short of victory against local star Amir Khan. This time Lee seeks redemption, as he takes on Garry Tonon.
Adrian “The Hunter” Pang is a martial arts veteran from Queensland, Australia, with a 22-12-2 professional record. The veteran Pang has decimated opponents with his incredible power and no-frills approach to striking in nearly two decades as a professional. He is known for his astounding durability and overwhelming strength, with the ability to walk through opponents with little to no resistance. Pang will need to muster all of his strength however, when he looks to reinsert himself in the winner’s column after a string of unfortunate setbacks. He returns against Kota Shimoishi.
31-year-old martial arts veteran Kota Shimoishi of Osaka, Japan is one of his country’s top-ranked lightweight contenders. Representing Blows Gym, he has a professional mixed martial arts record of 21-6, and is a part of ONE Championship’s deep and talented lightweight division. Shimoishi is known for his well-rounded striking and grappling skills, as well as his ability to deliver victories using his craftiness. A former Shooto Welterweight Tournament Champion, Shimoishi looks to score a big win over a veteran in his next outing. He will face Adrian Pang next.
Tiffany “No Chill” Teo of Singapore is a rising female martial arts star who competes in ONE Championship’s women’s strawweight division. She holds a professional record of 7-1, which includes three submissions and two knockouts. Teo began training in taekwondo before moving on to compete in boxing and Muay Thai and eventually transitioning to the ONE Championship cage. In her last bout, Teo fell short of capturing the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title, succumbing to eventual champion Xiong Jing Nan. Up next, Teo returns to take on Michelle Nicolini.
Women’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Michelle Nicolini is a martial artist competing in the ONE Championship women’s strawweight division. An eight-time BJJ world champion and Hall-of-Famer, Nicolini’s elite grappling skills have brought her great success since transitioning to the cage, as she now owns a solid 5-1 professional record which includes five impressive submission victories. Nicolini made her ONE Championship debut in November of 2016, figuring in a first-round submission victory over Mona Samir. An extremely technical grappler, Nicolini is scheduled to take on Tiffany Teo in her next appearance.
Former amateur standout “Jungle Cat” Muhammad Aiman of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is one of the country’s fastest rising martial arts talents. Featuring a well-rounded skill set, Aiman has impressed in his time inside the ONE Championship cage thus far, defeating Hisyam Samsudin by unanimous decision in his first match in the promotion before stopping Brazilian grappler Eduardo Novaes in his second outing. In his most recent contest, Aiman thoroughly dominated Chen Lei to win by submission in the second round. The 23-year-old former MIMMA Featherweight Champion based out of Bali, Indonesia is now set to take on his next challenge in Shuya Kamikubo.
DEEP Future King 2014 Tournament Champion Shuya Kamikubo is a former collegiate judoka who was born and raised in Yokohama, a part of Japan’s Kawasaki prefecture. During his studies at Nihon University, Kamikubo dedicated himself to his judo training, achieving several top finishes in major tournaments. Kamikubo was then inspired to compete in the cage, following the success of fellow judoka and Japanese martial arts legend Shinya Aoki. The man known as “Stealth” has put together an impressive 8-1-1 record in under four years as a professional, competing mostly in Japanese regional promotions such as Pancrase and Tribe Tokyo Fight. Now, he showcases his skills in ONE Championship. His next assignment is against Muhammad Aiman.
Hisyam “Zephyrus” Samsudin of Malaysia is a former WBF Asia-Pacific Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion who now represents EWAKO MMA gym in Sabah. Samsudin likes to pepper opponents with heavy handed strikes, utilizing his world-class boxing base. A boxing stylist with powerful hands, the 28-year-old returns to action in search of victory. His next challenge is against Xie Bin.
ONE Hefei Bantamweight Tournament Finalist “The Stalker” Xie Bin grew up in Hunan, China. He is part of a new breed of Chinese athletes who have been training in mixed martial arts since the beginning of their careers. At just 20 years old, Xie has tremendous potential to make an impact on ONE Championship’s bantamweight division. With skills in boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Muay Thai, Xie is determined to become China’s first-ever male mixed martial arts world champion. He faces Hisyam Samsudin in his next outing.
Undefeated Indonesian mixed martial artist Abro Fernandes is a ONE Championship newcomer set to make his promotional debut. A former Indonesian bantamweight champion, Fernandes owns a perfect professional mixed martial arts record of 7-0 and is known for his strong grappling skills. Looking to make a statement in his first outing in ONE, Fernandes will for an exciting victory against Chan Rothana.
32-year-old Chan Rothana of Phnom Penh, Cambodia is a former Khun Khmer practitioner who transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2014. He currently sports a 4-3 professional mixed martial arts record record which includes one submission victory and three wins by knockout. A former ONE Cambodia Featherweight GP finalist, Rothana is known as a devastating and relentless striker. He returns to action against Abro Fernandes.
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