Every MMA match went the distance on One Championship’s first all-female card.
“The Panda” puts Michelle Nicolini DOWN in
Round 1!
#ONEEmpower
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/c2YyVgRC4c— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
September 3, 2021
In the main event, One strawweight (125 pounds) titleholder
Jingnan
Xiong locked horns with Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom Michelle
Nicolini (6-3, 4-2 One). The 39-year-old challenger rushed in
for a takedown in the early moments of the fight, but Xiong stuffed
her with ease. Aware of her opponent’s grappling prowess, “The
Panda” kept her distance with calf kicks and overhand rights. Xiong
moved in and out with her strikes, landing practically at will on
the Evolve MMA representative. Midway through the first round, the
champ dropped Nicolini with a vicious right hand, but failed to
finish the job as the Brazilian recovered and landed a takedown.
Rounds 2 and 3 followed a similar script, as Nicolini desperately
attempted to drag her opponent on the ground, spending ample energy
with unsuccessful attempts, all while Xiong stung her from
afar. The defending champion controlled the pace and direction of the
fight in the championship rounds as well. Xiong’s crisper striking
allowed the her to score on the feet whenever she wished, as her
foe faded down the stretch. When it came to reading the judges’
scorecards, the ring announcer revealed that Xiong (16-2, 6-1 One)
notch her fifth title defense with a well-deserved unanimous
decision victory. So far, only current 115-pound beltholder
Angela
Lee managed to stop “The Panda” under One’s banner.
In the co-main event, Denice
Zamboanga welcomed Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation vet Seo Hee Ham
to the organization as part of the atomweight (115 pounds)
quarterfinals. While Zamboanga took the initiative more often than
her opponent with elbows and takedowns, Ham stood her ground on the
feet and retaliated with some heavy shots in turn. In the third
frame, an accidental clash of heads stopped the contest for a few
seconds to allow Zamboanga to recover from the blow. When the
action resumed, “The Menace” forced her opponent back to the
canvas, ending their encounter in top position. Ultimately, Ham
(24-8, 1-0 One) impressed the majority of the judges, who rewarded
her with a surprising split decision victory over Zamboanga (8-1,
3-1 One).
There’s NO CHANCE Stamp taps tonight!
#ONEEmpower
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/Sg93UFUcJb— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
September 3, 2021
In the remaining clashes on the atomweight tournament, flashy
combinations and submission attempts spurred Nong Stamp
(6-1, 6-1 One) towards a narrow split decision victory over
Alyona
Rassohyna (13-5, 1-1 One) in their rematch, allowing “Stamp
Fairtex” to join the semifinals; Commonwealth wrestling gold
medalist Ritu Phogat
(6-1, 6-1 One) overcame adversity and recorded a comeback victory
by outpointing Meng Bo (17-6,
3-1 One) on all three scorecards, punching her own ticket way to
the semifinals; Itsuki
Hirata (5-0, 4-0 One) outgrappled Alyse
Anderson (5-2, 0-1 One) en route to a unanimous decision that
earned her a place in the atomweight semifinals. The organization
has since stated that both semifinal matchups will be determined by
fan voting.
Earlier on the card, former Glory
kickboxing queen Anissa
Meksen dismantled fellow newcomer Cristina Morales in the
second round with punches at 2:27 of their One atomweight
kickboxing clash; Jackie Buntan took home her third victory under
the One banner after outstriking Daniela Lopez in a one-sided One
strawweight muay Thai battle; Julie
Mezabarba (9-2-1, 1-0 One) started the night by earning her
sixth straight victory in a clear-cut unanimous verdict over
Mei
Yamaguchi (21-13-1, 6-5 One) in the lone 115-pound grand prix
alternate match.