TOKYO, Japan—Angela Lee moved up in weight and sought to make history but she ended up meeting her match.
Xiong Jin Nan dealt Lee her first defeat to retain her women’s strawweight world title in the co-main event of ONE: A New Era Sunday night at Ryogoku Kokugikan here.
Xiong stopped Lee in the fifth round to extend her winning streak to nine.
But run nearly came to a halt after she barely survived an armbar applied by Lee with still a minute left in the fourth round.
EPIC armbar escape 😱 @angelaleemma #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/aEN8Loo7KV
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
Showing the heart of a champion, Xiong refused to tap and then, came out with a flurry in the fifth round.
The Chinese star broke Lee down with a body punch before she relentlessly unleashed combinations to force the stoppage.
The 31-year-old Xiong foiled Lee’s bid to become ONE Championship’s first two-division women’s champion.