Jenny Huang says she’s mentally stronger ahead of her ONE Championship return
Jenny Huang returns to action at ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, looking to kickstart another run towards the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title.
Huang started her career in storming form, going undefeated in her first five bouts, with submission finishes in the latter three contests. But a third-round submission defeat to world champ Angela Lee derailed that perfect run, and a subsequent loss to fellow former world title challenger Mei Yamaguchi sent “Lady GoGo” back to the drawing board, as she re-assessed her approach at the top level.
“When you have been through failure, you will have more confidence next time,” the 27-year-old told ONE Championship.
“I am not the type of person who lacks a view of the future. Some people will lose the ability to fight once they lose, but I do not. Once I fail, it gives me a different view of myself. It is like a mirror, where I can see clearly about many things, and I think that has made me a stronger person.”
Huang returns against Filipino contender Gina “Conviction” Iniong in Manila on Friday night, 20 April, in a bout she hopes will put her right back into the title conversation once again.
“It is very important, because it has been a while since my last fight,” she explained.
“This will be my ONE Championship return, so I want to show ONE I am ready, and I want to show all the fans what I am capable of.”
The loss to Yamaguchi – via second-round submission – was the key moment that forced Huang to reconsider her approach to bouts, as she admitted she allowed her emotions to adversely affect her performance.
“I was really confident before that match. I thought I had it all together, and that I would totally win it. But Mei is so good on the ground,” she said.
“I focused too much on the stand-up. I was trying to avoid fighting with her on the ground, because I know she is so good at it. But I did not pay enough attention, and did not even notice she got me in the submission.
“I need to say, the mood and mentality is really important, because I let down my guard. I trusted in myself so much that it caused the fault of my feet, and I suddenly lost the game. So I have had to learn how to adjust my mood and attitude in the fight. That is the key.”
With her mental game now on point, Huang says she’s ready to come back and make an impact on the ONE women’s atomweight division once again, and eventually earn herself another shot at the gold.
She knows that her opponent Iniong has similar goals to her, and will pose a tough test on her competitive return.
“Gina is an all-arounder. She can strike, she can wrestle, and she has her balance,” Huang said.
“I focused on my ground skills and on jiu-jitsu, so I think I can still have a shot to beat her. I think my BJJ is better than her’s now. Maybe I am still not good at wrestling, but I think I will try my best to TKO her on the ground.”
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