14 March 2018 – Shanghai, China: The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), recently held a press conference at the SMG Building in Shanghai, China to announce a partnership with Great Sports Media. The partnership will commence at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS, which takes place 26 May at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. In the main event, reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan returns home to China to defend her title against the challenger, Laura “La Gladiadora” Balin of Argentina.

Ticket information for ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS is available at www.onefc.com.

Victor Cui, CEO International of ONE Championship, stated: “ONE Championship is proud to announce its partnership with Great Sports Media, to bring fans the unique action of world class martial arts to the Chinese audience. Martial arts is on the rise globally, and ONE Championship is the home of martial arts. Xiong Jing Nan is an incredible martial arts champion and we are extremely proud of her accomplishments. ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS is going to be a spectacular evening that fans will not soon forget. We are excited to continue delivering an authentic martial arts experience to fans all throughout China.”

Weng Weimin, General Manager of Great Sports Media, stated: “Recently combat sports are growing very fast in popularity. We believe ONE Championship has a bright future in China, and we share the same culture and values. We hope though joint efforts to introduce this sport to a wider Chinese audience, makes them fall in love with ONE more.”

Great Sports Media, the holding company of Shanghai Media Group Inc. is one of China’s largest sports broadcasters. Under the Great Sports Media platform, all live ONE Championship events will be broadcast by Great Sports alongside a weekly magazine show.

ONE Championship and Great Sports spoke to media in attendance, revealing ONE Championship’s plans in China for the year 2018, including its stacked calendar of events. The two companies are set to collaborate throughout the foreseeable future and also announced that, two of the top talents from Great Sports, Ni Tianqi and Zhuang Ningyu, have joined ONE Championship as Chinese language cageside commentators.

Xiong Jing Nan, ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion, stated: “Thanks to ONE Championship for giving me the great opportunity to perform at home in Shanghai, China in the one of biggest international cities of the world. It’s really honor for me as an athlete. Although I have experienced competing in China so many times, this time I feel so much more excited because I have the chance to showcase the beauty and strength of Chinese martial arts to the entire world on the ONE Championship platform. I will do my best to defend my title and bring honor and glory to my country.”

Laura Balin, ONE World Title Challenger, stated: “I am very thankful to ONE Championship for giving me the opportunity to compete for the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship. I am excited to join the organization and showcase my talents and skills on the global stage of martial arts. My opponent Xiong Jing Nan is a talented athlete, and it will be a difficult test for me. But I will bring my absolute best to the cage to bring the title back home to Argentina.”

“The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of Shandong is the reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion. She is known as one of the top three leading female martial arts talents in China. With a professional record of 14-1, Xiong began her career competing in professional boxing and was inspired by her father, who imparted in her values of courage and integrity. Featuring a wide array of skills, Xiong recently bagged a gold medal at the prestigious China Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in 2017. In her last bout, Xiong figured in a gruelling championship encounter against Singapore’s Tiffany Teo, winning by technical knockout in the fourth round. Up next, Xiong returns to China to defend her title against Laura Balin.

Laura “La Gladiadora” Balin of Argentina is a female strawweight contender who will be making her ONE Championship debut at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS. Balin, who competed largely in Argentina for most of her professional career thus far, will compete for the very first time in Asia. She owns a professional record of 10 wins and two losses. Out of her 10 total victories, nine have come by exciting finish including five submissions and four knockouts. For Balin’s first foray into the ONE cage, the Argentinian warrior will face China’s Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship.

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