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Tiffany “No Chill” Teo confirmed her evolution when she pushed strawweight queen “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan for 5 rounds of their thrilling rematch at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX.
Regardless of that spectacular exhibiting, the #1 contender couldn’t recover from the road to assert the ONE Ladies’s Strawweight World Title. Now, she should beat Meng Bo at ONE: HEAVY HITTERS to remain inside attain of the gold.
Teo is aware of she belongs among the many elite, and a win in entrance of her hometown crowd on the Singapore Indoor Stadium subsequent Friday, 14 January, would push her nearer to 1 extra shot on the prime prize.
“In my final struggle with ‘Panda,’ I completely loved the struggle loads despite the fact that I misplaced. I felt like I improved loads as a fighter,” she says.
“I felt prefer it was an incredible efficiency. We each left it on the market within the cage. Win or lose, I’m proud of my efficiency for that night time.”
For her half, Meng is ranked #5 within the girls’s atomweight division, however she is shifting as much as strawweight to face the two-time World Title challenger.
The Chinese language star raced to 3-0 within the promotion earlier than she dropped a stunning determination loss to Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat within the ONE Ladies’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals.
Even with that defeat, Meng has constructed a popularity as a deadly striker, however “No Chill” isn’t satisfied her opponent is all that harmful.
“I don’t actually know if I’d name her robust. I’ve watched a couple of of her fights, and I’ve by no means actually seen her climate by way of any storm,” Teo says.
“Ritu simply dominated her for 2 full rounds and she or he had no reply for that, proper? She couldn’t get again up from the bottom. She was simply dominated, ground-and-pounded for 2 full rounds despite the fact that she knocked Ritu down earlier within the spherical.
“I really feel like a variety of the ladies simply gave her an excessive amount of respect for her knockout energy.”
Not fazed by Meng’s popularity, Teo hopes to register one other strong win in “The Lion Metropolis” – notably as a result of the occasion is headlined by Xiong’s sixth World Title protection.
The subsequent challenger – submission specialist Ayaka “Zombie” Miura – misplaced to “No Chill” through TKO again in 2020. And given her familiarity with each athletes, Teo predicts the reigning queen will preserve her stranglehold on the division.
“You’ll be able to see the way it went with [Xiong’s last challenger] Michelle Nicolini. It’s an identical striker-versus-grappler matchup. Michelle had a tough time closing the gap together with her strikes to arrange the takedowns, and I really feel that the identical factor will occur with Ayaka,” Teo says.
“Her hanging isn’t superb. She simply depends on that one trick that she has to get into the top lock. And I really feel like, if you know the way to defend, even in case you get into that place, she has nothing else aside from that, from what I see from her previous few fights.
“So, early prediction: I’m leaning in the direction of ‘Panda.’ I’m guessing through TKO or KO.”
Although Teo has fallen quick twice in opposition to Xiong, the clear enhancements she produced from one battle to the following had been sufficient to maintain her World Title dream alive.
She’s continued to push ahead amid troublesome circumstances, and when she watches the titleholder in motion on 14 January, the Group Spotlight Reel consultant can be picturing her personal future with the strap over her shoulder.
“When the pandemic hit, I needed to prepare for a struggle camp all through the circuit breaker with all of the gyms closed and social distancing restrictions,” Teo provides.
“It simply made me notice how badly I wished to struggle and the way badly I wished to be within the cage regardless of all the chances in opposition to me.
“I suppose it’s the atmosphere that made me notice that I need to struggle, and I do know that I’ve what it takes to be a champion at some point.”
Learn extra: After Devastating Loss, Meng Bo Embraces ‘A New Begin’
