By now, Gina “Conviction” Iniong knows it is not wise to leave her fate in the hands of the judges.
After seeing her former World Champion teammates Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio drop their belts via close decisions last month, the Filipina vows to win every bout moving forward with ‘conviction.’
She will have the chance to do that when she takes on Jihin “Shadow Cat" Radzuan on the undercard of ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS, which takes place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday, 16 February
"They can expect an aggressive and determined Gina Iniong," she stated.
"Anything can happen in a fight. All I can say is I don't want the fight to go to the judges' scorecards."
Iniong, a six-time Philippine Wushu Champion, was regarded as one of the fastest rising stars in ONE Championship's talent-rich atomweight division.
But in July, she lost some momentum after succumbing to Brazil’s Istela Nunes by way of unanimous decision at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS.
Despite the setback, she has always kept her eyes on the prize in the hopes of one day becoming the first female World Champion to emerge from the Philippines.
“I am still hoping to get a shot at the ONE Women's Atomweight World Title and fight Angela Lee,” Iniong admitted.
“One of my dreams is to challenge her because I want to become a World Champion.”
For her to bring that particular dream to life, she needs to defeat Radzuan — an unbeaten rising star from Malaysia.
Iniong has been working diligently at Team Lakay in an effort to fine-tune her skills and enter the match-up at the top of her game.
She wants to kick off 2019 on a high note, and she could accomplish that by making a statement against the “Shadow Cat.”
"I am working doubly hard in training by pushing myself to the limits,” she explained.
"I follow my coaches' advise in every turn. We focused on my weaknesses in training and gave a lot of time on my ground game.
“My last fight made me realize that I have so many techniques to improve and develop. I am coming with everything to have my hand raised in Bangkok.”