"I will get the world champion belt" - Ayaka Miura vows to dethrone Xiong Jing Nan

Ayaka Miura wants to do what no woman has succeeded in doing in the promotion at ONE: Heavy Hitters on Friday, January 14.

The Tribe Tokyo MMA star is keen to punch her name into the history books by becoming the first athlete to snatch the ONE women’s strawweight world title from ‘The Panda’ Xiong Jing Nan.

Ayaka Miura took to Instagram to share her main goal for the year. It is clear that the 31-year-old fighter wants to enjoy a reign as the strawweight queen.

“Happy new year everyone! Many people were enjoying MMA towards the end of 2021, but please support those who are fighting on the global stage.

“We will fight in 2 weeks. I will get the World Champion belt! Thank you.”

Xiong has held the title for more than 1000 days, so it will take something extra special from Ayaka Miura if she wants to leave the ONE Championship Circle with the greatest win of her career.

However, the No.4-ranked Ayaka Miura has certainly got the skills to back up her confidence. Four of her five appearances in the Singapore-based promotion have ended via submission wins. She hopes that her grappling skills will be enough to dethrone the longtime division queen.

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Can Ayaka Miura be the new strawweight queen?

The Japanese fighter, also known as the ‘Zombie’, has punished several opponents in her career by using her sublime judoka skills. Seven of her career wins have come by way of submission, with six of them ending with her go-to submission, the scarf-hold.

Earning a win against Xiong with just her judoka skills may not be enough for Ayaka Miura. Xiong’s resume consists of huge wins over grappling experts such as ONE atomweight queen Angela Lee and multiple-time Brazlian jiu-jitsu world champion Michelle Nicolini.

Ayaka Miura must be able to mix things up, which means being able to handle or minimize Xiong’s boxing in the stand-up department. The Chinese superstar packs a lot of power in her punches and can constantly wear an opponent down with her powerful fists.

If Ayaka Miura can withstand Xiong’s dominance in the striking unit and score a trip and trap ‘The Panda’ on the canvas, there is every reason to believe that she can leave the Circle with the ONE women’s strawweight world title.