May Ooi weighs-in on Lee v Xiong at ONE: Heart of the Lion
On Friday, November 9, at ONE: Heart Of The Lion, the Singapore Indoor Stadium will play host to a historic main event.
ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee of Singapore challenges China's “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship in hopes of becoming the first two-division women’s mixed martial arts World Champion.
Fans in the Lion City will have their eyes glued to the match to cheer for their hero, including one person who has a special interest in the contest.
Singapore Olympian “Mighty” May Ooi, who made the transition from swimming to martial arts, will be looking closely at the winner of the bout.
The 42-year-old made her ONE Championship debut in ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS where she stunned hometown hero Ann Osman with a first-round submission win. She quickly followed that up with another first-round stoppage by rear-naked choke against Vy Srey Khouch at home at ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT.
With the 2018 Asian Games introducing jiu-jitsu as an official sport, “Mighty” stepped away from the cage to focus on her bid to bring glory to Singapore, but she is now plotting her return.
“I’m definitely looking to get back into the cage again,” she said.
“I’m done competing for this year though. I am juggling quite a bit at the moment, and competition has to take a back seat, temporarily.”
The ONE Women’s Strawweight division has introduced a World Title during Ooi’s time away, something the Olympian would love to challenge for in her much-awaited return to the cage – no matter who the opponent is.
“They are both well-rounded athletes possessing dangerous skill sets,” she says. “They would be equally challenging but in different ways.”
For the first time in years, Lee comes into the contest as an underdog against Xiong as she steps up a division.
However, Ooi thinks “Unstoppable” measures up well against the defending World Champion.
“Angela has the skills to match Xiong,” she says.
“It’s a good match-up. It would keep the fans on the edge of their seats. I’m looking forward to watching it.”
“Anything can happen in a bout, especially one that is well matched. Xiong will need a decisive win if she wants to keep the belt.
“If Xiong doesn’t knock out Angela, she will lose her belt.”
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