Angela Lee Is Confident Of Winning Rematch With Xiong Jing Nan
Results haven’t gone the way Angela Lee would have wanted in 2019, with tough losses to Xiong Jing Nan and Michelle Nicolini. Lee will have the chance to get one of the wins back at ONE: Century, when she will rematch Xiong in Tokyo.
Lee moved up a weight class in March at ONE: A New Era, to challenge the ONE strawweight champion Xiong, but was stopped in the fifth round. The loss was Lee’s first in ten professional bouts. And the first loss was followed by a second loss just three months later against Nicolini at ONE: Masters Of Destiny, when a razor close decision went the Brazilian’s way. And as Lee told MMA Junkie, the losses were tough to take.
“For sure the losses bothered me. It’s bothered me bad. As much as I hate losing I can truly say I’m grateful it happened. I’m grateful for my losses, because I know it’s going to make me a much better fighter, and I’m grateful for it. It’s a hard thing to be undefeated, and I’m proud of myself for being undefeated as long as I was, and now that we got these losses out of the way, it’s time to get back on track. I’m really motivated to keep my belt.”
‘Unstoppable’ remains unbeaten at atomweight though and at ONE: Century next month, she will defend her ONE atomweight title against Xiong. And Lee is leaving no stone unturned in preparation for her rematch with the Chinese athlete.
“After these two fights I came back and told my coaches, ‘Whatever I need to do’. Anything I’ve needed to do I’ve been willing to do it. I just want to make the adjustments I need to make, and I want to make sure that I’m more than ready for anything. I don’t feel like I’ve ever been in this position before to be this motivated to win a fight. There’s a lot on the line.”
And with more on the line, Angela is feeling extra motivated than ever, and confident that the rematch will have a different outcome, this time round in Tokyo.
“I’m confident in the rematch. I have this goal and in the back of my head I’m going to do what I need to do to keep this belt. To have this one focus and to know so much is on the line, it’s like this added motivation. There’s always motivation, but this is a new situation.
“I didn’t have the best of luck the past two fights, and now I’m back in my division where I’m the champion, and I have that confidence going in there. I don’t want to lose.”
ONE: Century goes down on October 13th, at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. ONE Championship’s historic 100th event will feature two stacked cards of eleven bouts. Lee vs Xiong will headline the morning card. While Aung La N Sang vs Brandon Vera, for the ONE light heavyweight title, will headline the evening card.
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