Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan’s journey towards ONE Championship gold suffered a setback after the Malaysian atomweight contender fell short against unbeaten Anastasia “Anniemale” Nikolakakos in a tightly contested three-round battle.

Nikolakakos maintained her perfect professional record with a split decision victory over Radzuan at ONE Fight Night 45, surviving the Malaysian’s late surge to secure one of the biggest wins of her career and strengthen her case for a shot at the vacant ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title.

The fight was billed as a potential title eliminator, with both athletes looking to position themselves alongside Japan’s Chihiro Sawada in the race for the vacant championship.

From the opening bell, Nikolakakos immediately looked to impose her physicality. The Canadian rushed forward with aggressive striking before using her movement and grappling pressure to repeatedly drag Radzuan into uncomfortable positions.

Jihin, however, began finding her footing in the second round.

The Malaysian slowed down Nikolakakos’ momentum with sharp combinations, landing clean one-two punches that visibly marked her opponent. Inside the clinch, Radzuan also found success with dirty boxing and knees, turning the fight into a much more competitive contest.

With the scorecards hanging in the balance, the final round became a battle of adjustments.

Nikolakakos returned to her wrestling-heavy approach, searching for takedowns and eventually trapping Radzuan against the ropes.

After securing a late takedown, the Canadian had to survive a dangerous moment when Radzuan threatened with a front headlock submission attempt.

But Nikolakakos escaped, regained control, and did enough in the judges’ eyes to claim the split decision victory.

The result extended Nikolakakos’ unbeaten record to 7-0 and placed her firmly in the conversation for the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title.

For Radzuan, the defeat ends a promising run after she overcame significant challenges outside the cage to keep her championship ambitions alive.

The Malaysian had recently returned to winning ways with a career-first TKO victory over Gabriela Fujimoto and was aiming to prove she belonged among the division’s elite.

Despite the disappointment, Radzuan once again showed she could compete against one of the atomweight division’s most highly regarded rising stars.

The road to the ONE title may have become longer, but “Shadow Cat” remains one of Malaysia’s most experienced representatives on the global MMA stage.