Chinese mixed martial arts star Meng Bo has power in her hands, and at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade, on Friday, Nov. 3, she is hoping it’ll be enough to earn her a shot at the ONE women’s strawweight MMA championship.
Her upcoming rival, Ayaka Miura, will offer a significant challenge, however. The Japanese star has an impressive grappling game that Meng will have to overcome, but she believes she has what it take to do just that.
“It’s true that my opponent is a judo master, but this is MMA. My wrestling coach has been helping me with this preparation and has ways to deal with my opponent,” she told ONE Championship.
The matchup will be a way for Meng to show off her development. She knows how her game is perceived by fight fans and has been hard at work addressing her deficiencies.
Thus, the talented KO artist has a new well-rounded skill set, and she’s ready to showcase it in U.S. primetime on Prime Video in a few short weeks.
“Everyone is aware of my strength in striking, but my previous weakness was in grappling. Now, I am constantly improving my grappling and wrestling skills, and I also keep strengthening my striking,” Meng stated.
Although she is aware of Miura’s judo game, Meng isn’t concerned with how it will come into effect on Nov. 3.
In discussing what “Zombie” does best, Meng was relatively dismissive of her foe’s skills, and she plans to implement a very straightforward strategy to get the stoppage when they meet.
“I think Miura is weak in everything except handling punches well, so all I have to do is throw harder punches,” Meng said.
For the 27-year-old star, there is no other option but to win. She expects a shot at the divisional crown to come her way if she overcomes Miura. But if it doesn’t she’ll continue to patiently pursue her ultimate goal.
“My goal is always the world championship. If I win this fight, I want to have a title fight. And if I don’t get this chance, then I will ask for it again next time or until it’s given to me. I’m in no hurry. It’ll be mine sooner or later,” Meng admitted.
It would be difficult to deny her a chance at the gold after a win. And that’s in part due to Xiong Jing Nan standing atop the division.
The all-Chinese battle would be a huge boost for the country, and it is a matchup that is guaranteed excitement.
If that were to happen, Meng would just be happy to ensure the world title stays in China – no matter who got their hand raised.
“I want to challenge Xiong Jing Nan not because she’s Xiong Jing Nan, but because Xiong Jing Nan is the champion. So I think I’m just here to take over the gold belt because we are all Chinese. And of course, whoever wins, the title belongs to China,” Meng said.
ONE Fight Night 16 airs live on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 3. The event is free for all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada.