ONE Championship now has its first Women’s Strawweight World Champion.  China’s “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan claimed the belt in a thrilling inaugural world title bout at ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE on Saturday, 20 January.

A relentless performance of pressure and power punching from “The Panda” proved decisive, as the Chinese star was crowned in front of a packed crowd at the Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia.

Xiong started strongly, coming out of the gate fast and using her speed advantage to force Tiffany “No Chill” Teo onto the back foot.

The Team Highlight Reel and Tiger Muay Thai product had her successes early on, taking Xiong to the mat and looking to work from the guard. But the China Open BJJ Champion stayed active from her back, threatening with submissions, before eventually working her way back to her feet and lighting up Teo with strikes once more.

It was a pattern that continued throughout the contest, as Xiong’s speed and power gradually broke down Teo, a boxing and BJJ champion herself. As the bout progressed, Teo’s offense started to fade, while Xiong showcased her remarkable conditioning by maintaining a breathless pace throughout the contest.

Xiong turned up the heat in the second stanza, landing heavy punches and punishing knees in the clinch before taking Teo to the mat, where she looked to work over her opponent. By the time the bell sounded to mark the end of round number two, it was clear that Xiong was the dominant athlete.

“No Chill” showed remarkable heart and determination to keep going through the third round, but the snap had gone from her strikes, and she was unable to prevent Xiong from walking her down.

When “The Panda” took the Singaporean to the mat and transitioned to her back, it looked like the finish was imminent. But, with referee Olivier Coste watching from close quarters, Teo somehow survived to send the bout into the championship rounds.

Teo’s resistance lasted all the way to the middle of the fourth round, but was finally broken by yet another powerful salvo of strikes from the Chinese starlet.

Xiong landed clean with a left head kick, then threw a multiple-punch attack that eventually sent the exhausted Teo to the canvas, prompting Coste to dive in and end the contest at the 2:17 mark of round four.

With the TKO victory, Xiong improves her record to 14-1, while handing Teo the first professional defeat of her martial arts career. “No Chill” now stares at a 7-1 record.

More importantly, the win cemented “The Panda” in ONE history as not only the first-ever ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion, but also the first world champion in the cage to fly the China flag.

After a performance that showcased her power, conditioning, and relentless will to win, one thing seems clear: it is going to take a monumental effort to dethrone the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion as we head into a packed 2018.