“Setbacks is also my motivation" - Xiong Jing Nan on her persistence and growth

Xiong Jing Nan is less than two weeks away from her ONE women’s strawweight world title fight against Ayaka ‘Zombie’ Miura at ONE: Heavy Hitters on Friday, January 14.

A victory for the Chinese superstar in ONE’s first event of 2022 will mark her sixth world title defense. No woman has been more successful in the Circle than the 33-year-old Xiong. However, the Evolve MMA star pointed out in her latest Instagram post that her journey has had its fair share of struggles.

Xiong revealed that her path toward becoming a world champion was filled with several testing moments. However, she was thankful that her teammates and coaches at Evolve MMA in Singapore helped her in becoming a greater athlete by the day.

“I have experienced a lot in my life. In the process of becoming mature, a person will inevitably experience a lot of setbacks and disasters. It is a kind of harvest on the road to growth, a kind of precipitation, the process of growth is the accumulation of step by step precipitation, persistence in cognitive changes after setbacks is also my motivation and direction for moving forward.

“It has been two years since I joined evolve team @evolvemma. In this process, everyone has taught me many different life and philosophy of life. Both in my competition and in life, I have new gains and new understandings - new life insights, which are valuable assets.

“Thank you to my boss @yodchatri give us a morale boost and full support during this special period. Thank you to my coaches @siyarized @alexsilva1010 for their assistance, encouragement, support and recognition that they have given me in my most difficult time. Thank you to every partner in the team , we continue to walk side by side and continue to move forward in 2022. #UnleashYourGreatness”

Xiong, China’s first-ever MMA world champion, is hell-bent on defending her world title. She hopes that all of her teammates in the gym will also achieve similar success over the next 12 months.

She defeated multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Michelle Nicolini by unanimous decision in her last appearance in the Circle. It was the 16th professional win of her seven-year career.

---

What can fans expect from Xiong Jing Nan this year?

Xiong has combined her world-class boxing and grappling skills to make her one of the most attractive fighters to watch in ONE.

After closing out 2021 with another successful title defense, Xiong would love to gain at least two more wins in the strawweight division before she sets her eyes on the atomweight crown.

Longtime atomweight queen Angela Lee is expected to return this year, so it will be interesting to see Xiong go toe-to-toe with the Hawaii-based fighter at some point in 2022.

However, Xiong will have to wait as Lee is scheduled to fight Stamp Fairtex next. Stamp earned a shot at the atomweight world title following her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix triumph.