May Ooi signs with ONE Championship

Singapore's mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter May Ooi, who represented Singapore in swimming at the 1992 Olympics, has signed with ONE Championship and will make her ONE debut on Aug 18.

She will take on Malaysian strawweight exponent Ann Osman at the ONE: Quest For Greatness in Kuala Lumpur, a day before the start of the SEA Games.

Her signature with the Asian MMA promotion also opens the door to a possible super fight with atomweight golden girl Angela Lee, who fights under the Singapore flag.

ONE chairman and founder Chatri Sityodtong had previously said that he would be keen on the clash and did not "see any reason not to have the fight" if Ooi becomes a fighter with One.

Speaking to The New Paper at the Brazilian Cultural Centre, a Capoeira school she co-owns, Ooi said: "If the fight with Angela happens, it'll happen.

"I'll be ready for it. Everybody has her strengths and weaknesses, and I'll play to my strengths if the match-up happens.

"Angela's a good fighter, she is very skilled, and I have a lot of respect for her."

Ooi, who holds a medical degree, has a professional MMA record of two wins and two losses from her fights under other promotions in the past.

The 41-year-old, who has trained in Capoeira for over 10 years, said of her upcoming bout against Ann: "A Malaysia and Singapore battle is always going to rock boats and make waves, and I'm really excited about it.

"This is not the first time I've fought a Malaysian. It's just the first time I'm fighting under a different promotion.

"A fight is a fight, as long as I'm in the zone and I walk in there with a task at hand, it doesn't matter where the location is or who I fight. I just see the opponent in front of me."

Ann, 31, hails from Kota Kinabalu in Sabah and is Malaysia's first pro female MMA fighter.

Known as a well-rounded martial artist who uses her strength and aggression to overpower opponents, she has a record of five wins and three losses.

Ooi, who holds a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt with two stripes, is training three to five hours a day, six times a week, to get herself into tip-top condition.

Asked how she intends to tame her opponent, Ooi said: "Bring it on. Ann is a wrestler, and she takes everyone down. She's really strong and explosive.

"But, in every fight, I go for the finish. I will take the fight to where it needs to be so I can finish it.

"Why do you think I am getting into the cage? To lose? No. I am walking in there to win. A win is a finish.

"I am entering the octagon with the mindset to raise the Singapore flag in KL on the eve of the SEA Games opening ceremony.

"I will be ready for the fight."