Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight titleholder Weili Zhang has racked up 21 straight wins with 17 violent finishes, casting aside former champions Jessica Andrade and Joanna Jedrzejczyk along the way.
Don’t expect more than a golf clap from Meng Bo.
Probably because the Chinese juggernaut, who crossed over to ONE Championship after running the table at Glory of Heroes, is the one and only fighter to defeat Zhang after going to war with “Magnum” under the CMMAL banner back in late 2013.
Bo doesn’t anticipate a different result the second time around.
“No doubt I’m still confident that I can definitely defeat her again,” Bo said. “I’ve been improving my skills day by day. We are both stand-up fighters, so I think we’d showcase our stand-up fighting skills to entertain our fans. Though I beat her in that fight, I also learned a lot from her. We both changed a lot since then and improved our skills as well.”
Those skills will be on display when Bo, still just 24, looks for her third straight win (and third straight finish) for ONE Championship at the upcoming “Unbreakable” combat sports event, taking place Jan. 22 inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Standing in her way is Brazilian bruiser Samara Santos.
“She’s a really tough fighter,” Bo said. “She was a former title challenger in ONE, so I know I need to be careful of her. She’s pretty good at ground fighting but from what I’ve observed in her previous fights, she shows better skills in stand-up fighting, especially her swing in mid-to-late rounds.”
After destroying Indonesian standout Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol (watch the video replay here), Bo has a chance to secure her spot in the promotion’s upcoming World Grand Prix. A triumph there would undoubtedly lead to a division title shot.
“I’m so interested in participating in the ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix,” Bo said. “My ranking in Atomweight is No. 2. Through the Grand Prix I can showcase all my training and skills to fans. Most importantly, I can prove that I have all the talent to challenge the current ONE champion.”
That sounds like the kind of resume that could lead to ONE Champion vs. UFC Champion.