Mar 27, 2026
3 min read
ONE Championship is getting rid of its women's heavyweight division.
ONE Championship has decided to shut down the entire women's strawweight division, including reigning champion Xiong Jing Nan, who was fired by the promotion.
ONE releases champion Xiang Jingnan and eliminates the women's strawweight division
Xiong Jingnan has put together an incredible run with ONE Championship
Officials from the promotion confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Thursday, as first reported by the Bangkok Post.
The move officially eliminated the women's bantamweight division, although many of the bantamweight division's top fighters have already moved up to atomweight in recent years.At ONE, the organization's bantamweight division includes strawweight fighters competing at 125 pounds and atomweight fighters competing at 115 pounds.
Xiong previously won her first ONE Women's Bantamweight Championship in 2018 and has defended the belt seven times.Her only loss in the promotion came in 2019, when she dropped to atomweight and was submitted by then-ONE champion Angela Lee with a naked choke.
He first defeated Li at strawweight and then defeated him again in a rubber match in 2022, which served as Xiong's final defense of the ONE title.
Xiong once again fought under MMA rules in 2025, where he defeated Meng Bo by unanimous decision, but did not carry weight in the fight.
Now this 38 year old veteran is a free transfer and ONE has decided to close the doors of his division.
In recent years, ONE has promoted fewer MMA fights while adding muay thai, kickboxing and grappling divisions to its roster.Former ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes also earned his release and is set to face Muhammed Mokaev on the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card on the 16th.
