Former world title contender Ayaka Miura calls for a rematch against strawweight MMA queen Xiong Jing Nan

With virtually clearing out all the challengers in her division, current ONE women’s strawweight MMA world champion Xiong Jing Nan is running out of opponents in the 125-pound division, which is why some of the opponents she already defeated are calling for a rematch.

Among those leading names is Japanese contender Ayaka Miura, who is fresh off a stunning first-round submission victory against Meng Bo at ONE Fight Night 16 in November 2023 that went down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

That victory halted the three-fight losing streak of Miura, which coincidentally started at the hands of ‘The Panda’ in January 2022 at ONE: Heavy Hitters. Following that failed world title bid, ‘Zombie’ sustained two more losses from Dayane Cardoso and now ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly.

But with this morale-boosting win against the tough Chinese opponent, Miura has regained her confidence to demand a second opportunity to strike gold. The 33-year-old shared this in her most recent appearance on the South China Morning Post’s YouTube channel for an interview on November 5, 2023.

Miura said:

“I was just focused on this match, wasn’t thinking at all about whether or not a win would get me another shot at Xiong Jing Nan’s belt. All my focus was on this match, but now that it has ended, I would like to fight in a rematch with Xiong Jing Nan.”

With yet another stellar display of her judo-based fighting style to chalk up another victim on her list, Miura believes that she can now impose her superior grappling skills against the striking-based approach of the undisputed Chinese world champion.

Angela Lee is the only person to deal considerable damage to Xiong’s near-invincible aura. The inaugural ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion is the only athlete in ONE Championship to give Xiong a loss, and it was via submission in October 2019 at ONE: Century Part I.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 16 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.