Xiong Jing Nan defended her strawweight title for the fifth time at ONE: ‘Empower’ last night. After the fight she was asked about a fight with the UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.
Xiong gave a surprising answer,
“Me and Rose added each other on Instagram and sometimes we chat on Instagram, she’s a good friend of mine.”
She was asked about the possibility of fighting the UFC strawweight champion and Xiong made it clear that their Instagram friendship wouldn’t be an obstacle,
“A matchup with me and Rose would be a dream matchup. I am looking forward to that (prospective) fight.”
No predictions
Namajunas will be facing another Chinese fighter at UFC 268. She is rematching Xiong’s compatriot Weili Zhang in New York.
It sounds like Xiong will definitely be watching this fight,
“I’m so excited about this fight. I know they will definitely put on a good show,” she said.
But any fans hoping for betting tips from the reigning ONE Championship strawweight queen would have been disappointed,
“I can’t give you a prediction right now because I have been focusing on my training camp, ” she said.
Prospective opponent
Xiong has nearly cleared out the strawweight division. She was asked about a potential matchup with Ayaka Miura and stated that she wants to beat everyone and then possibly drop down in weight,
“I want to show everyone that I’m the dominant fighter in the strawweight division. If I can fight all of them I am willing to go to atomweight.”
If she can clear out both divisions then Xiong wants to start fighting opponents from other promotions,
“I want to fight the top fighters, not only in ONE Championship but also from other promotions.”
A matchup with the reigning UFC strawweight champion looks an extremely distant prospect given the rivalry between the two promotions. But at least Namajunas and Xiong can continue their blossoming Instagram friendship without having to worry about fighting each other one day!
