Who is Xiong JingNan? UFC Macau's decorated newcomer is no ordinary UFC rookie

Fighters are often two-faced in nature. Don’t interpret that negatively because, in a way, they have to be. Shifting gears between being a calculated killer inside the cage and a normal, everyday person outside of it almost becomes a forced skill.

China’s Xiong JingNan embodies that duality better than most. The former ONE Championship 125-pound queen has long been a ray of sunshine with the ability to flip a switch into a laser-focused marauder when duty calls. It’s impressed me every time we’ve spoken over the past seven years, but this latest time, Xiong’s smile shined brighter than in previous interactions. Because finally, after several long years, she was a free woman.

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Xiong is the only fighter to hold ONE’s 125-pound women’s championship in the promotion’s history. But after nearly a decade, 11 wins and seven successful title defenses, she — along with her entire division — was released in March out of the blue.

Now, at age 38, Xiong (19-2) is officially a UFC fighter after exclusively competing for ONE and China’s Kunlun Fights promotion since her MMA debut in 2014. She’ll be welcomed to the Octagon by fellow veteran Angela Hill at UFC Macau this Saturday, May 30.

To call the journey to this late UFC run tumultuous is an understatement.

“We can't [speak] contractually [about the ONE release], but obviously, being released, having the opportunity to fight and be active now, and being signed to the UFC is something I look forward to,” Xiong told Uncrowned through an interpreter.

“It's more about being grateful for the opportunities that were awarded. I look at those times as obviously character-building times, and also, I had obviously great times with ONE as a champion. To be able to fight, win that first inaugural belt, and be the first Chinese martial arts champion — a Chinese world champion in MMA — and to win eight title fights, I'm just happy about that part of the journey and looking forward."

China's Xiong JingNan (L) makes her long-awaited UFC debut this Saturday.EDUARDO LEAL via Getty Images

As one of Kunlun Fights’ homegrown stars from its early days, Xiong wasted no time standing out as a talent to watch upon her professional MMA debut in 2014. She finished seven of her first nine wins before catching ONE’s radar and making the leap in 2017. One more knockout after that was all ONE needed to see to invest — Xiong fought for the inaugural 125-pound strawweight crown in her sophomore bout with the company, battering Tiffany Teo in a spirited effort from both parties. In the bigger picture, it was a highlight performance for the type of reign Xiong was beginning to build.

This was ONE’s history-maker. The first Chinese champion in a major MMA promotion. A division was built around her, and she finished four of her first five fights in the promotion spectacularly — the last being an upset win over her blood rival, ONE’s celebrated strawweight champion at the time, Angela Lee, in the arguable best fight of their eventual trilogy.

But blockades soon appeared on her golden brick road.

That fight didn’t get the love it deserved because ONE didn’t want it to; Lee, a previously undefeated face of the company, didn’t win. Once Lee did win the rematch, the picture from ONE management was painted much more vibrantly, despite the controversy it came with in reality. These two were linked together in the first female champion vs. champion rivalry for a major promotion in MMA history, and Xiong wasn’t supposed to get the last laugh. But the fact that she did never should have been a surprise.

Following the rubber match in 2022 — a unanimous decision for Xiong that put her ahead 2-1 in their series — ONE founder Chatri Sityodtong went off. He discredited Xiong by firmly questioning the scorecards and claimed Lee should have won.

Xiong no longer refrained. Hearing such words triggered the champion, and she lashed back, calling the promotion biased against her and in favor of Lee.

From that point on, Xiong was effectively put on ice by ONE. Nearly three years passed before her next fight, which came in a 115-pound division she couldn’t even make.

Despite the Lee rivalry seemingly altering her career trajectory in the eyes of her promoter, Xiong didn’t want to leave ONE, as she told me in 2023 after the third Lee fight. The woman had been a model of entertainment consistency and embodied the entire theme of the “fighting spirit” that ONE so often sold to audiences around the globe since it began in 2011. She just kept winning and throwing wrenches into expectations.

“I started in ONE Championship, and I will finish in ONE Championship,” Xiong said at the time. “If you say finish my career life, I feel a little bit sad about it because time is so fast.”

Yet these days, relief radiates off Xiong when speaking ahead of her UFC debut. One of the best 125-pound fighters of all time knows she is about to be active again. As she nears age 40, the low fight frequency made her time on the shelf all the more difficult.

She hasn’t fought since March 2025. No injuries. No outside drama. No excuses.

"That was a very difficult time,” Xiong admitted. “Obviously, as an athlete, I wanted to be active, but I believed in myself and my team. We had to put the foot on the pedal just to make sure that if any opportunities arise, I was ready to go."

Aside from getting to compete in her home country for the first time since 2018, Xiong’s arrival in the UFC comes at a great time. She’ll join the ranks of the 115-pound strawweight division in a much more ready state than she did for her ONE swan song.

If you know about Xiong, you know what to expect. She’s a relentless buzzsaw of punches, almost revving up like a chainsaw as each minute ticks off the clock. Her late-career disappearance has left this final chapter of her run somewhat of an unknown.

Xiong JingNan can finally flip the page on the tumutious end to her ONE career.Jeff Bottari via Getty Images

"There's still a new level for me to show,” Xiong said. “I hope that everybody doesn't look at my age and think this is the tail end of a career. I feel like I have a lot more to show, and I'm very excited to go out and showcase the improvements I've made over the last couple of years.

"Over the last few years, I've really had to grow as a person from everything that's happened. I've learned a lot. I feel like a different person now. Obviously, in the fight, I really want to deliver a beautiful performance and a beautiful finish. That's what I'm going to be looking for. But more than anything, I'm going to look to control what I can control and not let these outside factors really affect the fight so that I can put on a beautiful performance.

"The [UFC] strawweight division also had a Chinese champion [Zhang Weili], so that gives me motivation to go out there and become the second person to do that."

Unlike many UFC signings this decade, Xiong isn’t just some card filler off the streets. ONE had no more use for one of the best fighters on the planet, but the promotion’s loss is UFC’s gain, especially in a division that could use a boost to its contender ranks.

It’s now or never for the long-reigning champ. And she fully intends to kick this part of her career into overdrive and win one more prize.

That all starts with a home game on Saturday.

"The No. 1 goal at the moment is to go out and fight a fight I'm proud of in that first fight in my [UFC] debut. In my opinion, I can [become champion] in one year or two years, that's the goal,” Xiong said.

“If I have three amazing fights, they will have to put me in a position to be top of that ladder. Whatever the bosses or the higher-ups decide for me in the UFC, I'll do. I would obviously like to do it quickly. But again, the first one would be to go out there and put out an amazing performance, try to put away a girl that's never been finished and take it from there."

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