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"Shadow Cat" un-stings "Killer Bee"

SINGAPORE: It was a proud but unexpected night at ONE: BIG BANG in Singapore on December 4 as Malaysia's Jihin "Shadow Cat" Radzuan turned in a clinical grappling performance to outscore Vietnamese-American star, Bi "Killer Bee" Nguyen across three rounds of solid action to take home a unanimous decision victory.

The popular Johor-native returned to winnings ways in the all-action atomweight bout against the confident Nguyen, displaying absolute supremacy in the grappling exchanges throughout the mixed martial arts contest, despite her opponent showing a slight advantage in the stand-up game.

The lively 21-year-old had hitherto earned most of her victories with her ground game, but on this memorable night for Jihin and her fans, the athlete showed that she could also be on point with her striking game.

Jihin started the contest by taking the centre of the Circle and countering Nguyen's explosive punching combinations with left hooks and leg kicks. This in turn forced Nguyen to change her strategy and use trip takedowns to take the action to the mat.

The Malaysian's impressive scrambling ability kept her out of trouble on the ground, and her active guard almost earned a submission when she caught "Killer Bee" in a triangle choke. However, Nguyen escaped and the round finished on the feet.

STINGING END

The beginning of the second stanza saw even more aggressive striking as each athlete caught each other with hard elbows in the clinch. But both were able to absorb the blows, showcasing their durability.

"Shadow Cat" appeared to dominate this round, successfully initiating the grappling as she caught a kick and hitting a beautiful sweep. She then swiftly advanced to mount and took the back, but lost control before the end of the round, while her opponent found some success with strikes against the Circle Wall.

The final frame was all about striking — unlike the previous two rounds. Despite Nguyen coming forward aggressively and taking aim at her opponent's head, the Malaysian was on point with her counter left hook. Jihin landed some hard push kicks to the face, adding more damage to the Vietnamese-American.

Although "Killer Bee" finished strong with a late takedown and unloaded punches from mount, that final flurry wasn't enough to earn the judges' favour. After 15 minutes, all three officials scored the bout for Jihin, who picked up her fifth win in ONE Championship and could potentially break into ONE's Athlete Rankings.

For details on the night's other action, go to www.onefc.com.

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