5 of the best Chinese fighters right now
2. Xiong Jing Nan
Xiong Jing "The Panda" Nan is the current and inaugural ONE women's strawweight champion as well as the first Chinese MMA champion in history.
Born in the southwestern region of Jining, Shandong Province, China, Nan took an unconventional road toward martial arts greatness.
Her first athletic endeavor was weightlifting. Here, she established a tireless work ethic and focused all her energy on being the best, sacrificing all other hobbies in favor of this goal. Owing in part to her lifelong love for Chinese action and martial arts movies, Nan decided to change sports and took up boxing. She represented the Shandong regional team before representing China internationally as a pugilist.
Realizing she had a knack for martial arts competition, Nan tried her hand at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and it didn't take long for her athleticism to carry over and lead her toward a Chinese Open competition championship.
MMA became her next focus and after a great run in Kunlun Fight going 9-1, she signed to ONE Championship. She won the inaugural ONE women's strawweight title in only her second fight with the promotion and has since defended it seven times. Her only loss with the promotion came when she dropped down a weight class to battle Angela Lee for the atomweight title. Despite this, she has defeated Lee on two other occasions to defend her strawweight gold.
The 35 year old currently represents Evolve MMA gym and known as one of MMA's hardest-working and fiercest competitors. When asked about where she gets her drive, Nan acknowledges her family as an anchor and true inspiration for her as she embarks on her career saying, "I've only been able to continue for so long because of my family as well as some very close friends I consider to be family."
Nan fights behind powerful looping punches that have busted up the vast majority of her opponents, especially evident in her two fights with Tiffany Teo. Eleven of Nan's eighteen wins have come by knockout.
At the time of writing, Nan's next contest is scheduled for ONE Fight Night 14 against Nat "Wondergirl" Jaroonsak in a special rules striking match in which only punching is allowed. The two will compete in 4 oz. gloves and all closed fist strikes will be legal. Nan will look to swing heavy leather as she often does in her MMA matches.