AFTER a hard fought three-round encounter with Jenny Huang in her last outing, Gina Iniong hopes to secure another win in One Championship later this month.
Iniong is booked in the undercard of ONE: Battle of the Heavens slated July 7 at Guangzhou Tianhe Gymnasium, in Guangzhou, China.
The Team Lakay atomweight heads to China later this week as she squares off with Istela Nunes who is hungry for a victory after her title dreams got dashed by reigning atomweight world champion Angela Lee.
Iniong, in her latest bout in April at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena displayed her startling martial arts evolution with a masterful showing against Huang.
Iniong stifled the Chinese Taipei athlete with fluid combinations, and when the submission-savvy Huang tried bringing the contest to the mat, but the Baguio City based MMA fighter nullified her takedown attempts with superb defense.
While the six-time Philippine national wushu champion’s physical skills have clearly improved in her last bout, the biggest improvement of all, according to Iniong is her mentality.
“The biggest change in my career so far has been my confidence. I think it has been the missing piece of the puzzle,” Iniong says. “Believing in myself has allowed me to relax more, and not be so tense heading into bouts. The result can be seen in the way I fight,” she said.
Iniong was already considered a highly-regarded competitor when she joined ONE in April 2017. However, she quickly admits the spotlight affected her quite early in her promotional tenure, and she found herself thrust into an unfamiliar situation.
With a victory against a former title challenger, Iniong reaffirms her place in the upper echelon of the division.
The wushu warrior is not necessarily in a rush to get a world title shot, but she wants to continue sharpening her skills, and defeat any opponents who could bring her closer to a bout with the world champion.
The main event will feature Yodcherry Sityodtong of Thailand taking on Kaiting Chuang of Chinese Taiwan for the inaugural ONE Super Series Kickboxing atomweight world championship. (Roderick Osis)