Xiong Jing Nan defends her strawweight title against Samara Santos in the main event of ONE Championship “Beyond the Horizon” on Saturday (Sept. 8, 2018) in Shanghai, China.
ONE Championship is just a couple of hours away from televising its “Beyond the Horizon” mixed martial arts (MMA) event in Shanghai, China, headlined by the strawweight title fight pitting Xiong Jing Nan (champion) against Brazilian interloper Samara Santos (challenger).
But there’s more at stake than just the 115-pound strap.
For Jing Nan (12-1), a victory on her home turf sets up the biggest fight of her combat sports career. Undefeated atomweight Angela Lee is ready to ink a champion vs. champion “super fight” later this year in Singapore, in what will undoubtedly be “Panda’s” most lucrative and high-profile fight to date.
Just don’t ask her about it until Sunday morning.
“My next fight is my only focus,” the champion told MMAmania.com. “I can’t think about Angela Lee because I have another fighter whose only goal is to defeat me. Fighters can make mistakes during the fight, but sometimes the biggest mistakes they make are before the fight. I can’t let myself be distracted.”
ONE Championship already has one dual champion on its roster in the form of Martin Nguyen and no question the promotion is planning for a potential Lee vs. Jin Nan showdown, but that sort of pressure pales in comparison to representing a country with a population of more than 1.3 billion.
That’s a lot of people to disappoint in defeat, particularly against a foreign fighter.
“This fight is very meaningful to me, I want the world to see that China is producing some of the world’s best fighters. It is my responsibility on Saturday to prove it by dominating my opponent. That responsibility is very stressful, but I use the pressure to motivate me ahead of this fight.”
The Singapore-based promotion is making a concerted effort to continue its push into mainland China over the next several years, to the point where CEO Victor Cui packed up his family and relocated to Shanghai, indicative of his commitment to the organization’s aggressive expansion.
But that expansion won’t come at the expense of the promotion’s core values, which include honor and respect for the athletes, the fans, and the art of fighting. Pretty much the exact opposite of what we’ve seen from UFC and some if its top combatants.
“Let’s say we had a press conference in China and Conor McGregor threw a water bottle,” Cui previously told MMAmania.com. “I would go to jail. I’m not kidding around. At the end of the shows in China, I meet with the government officials and they have a checklist. Did we play this song, did we play this song? If you played one extra song, they can throw me in jail and they’ve done that to other concert promoters.”
ONE Championship has now hosted several shows in mainland China and I’m happy to report that Cui remains a free man. In fact, he was on hand for the “Beyond the Horizon” staredowns earlier this week, where he warned fans not to sleep on Santos.
As you might expect, the Brazilian was in agreement.
“Right now, I have upset on my mind,” Santos said. “I will climb into the ring this Saturday night and score the biggest victory of my career. This is my chance and my time. I have prepared very well for this and I’m in the best shape of my life. Winning the title won’t be easy, but I’m ready to do whatever is necessary to achieve victory.”
Santos (11-5-1) boasts eight finishes in 11 wins, six by way of submission.
Both Jin Nan and “Marituba” will have some stiff competition in terms of high-octane action. Elsewhere on Saturday night’s fight card, Christian Lee makes his return against Filipino sensation Edward Kelly, while Honorio Banario and Amir Khan hook ‘em up at lightweight.
ONE Championship “Beyond the Horizon” will be available to view live and free using the newly-launched app, which you can download here. The first four fights will also stream live on Twitter and Facebook.