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Jackie Buntan seeks to make her world championship dreams come true
Buntan has been training in Muay Thai since she was a preteen, and her years of dedication have all been focused on this moment.
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Muay Thai fighter Jackie Buntan.
Jackie Buntan will finally realize her dream of competing for world title gold in just two short weeks.
The Filipina-American star meets Swedish phenom Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell to contest the inaugural ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world championship at ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Buntan has been training in Muay Thai since she was a preteen, and her years of dedication have all been focused on this moment. Her debut year in ONE Championship saw her take home three wins in a row, including a knockout victory over Thai sensation Wondergirl.
And she hasn’t taken her foot off the gas since then.
“With training, you get better the more you do it. The same thing with fighting, especially if you can do it more within that single year. You're just going to get more experience, more ring time, which is always better at the end of the day,” Buntan said.
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The 24-year-old fighter will face a worthy opponent in Sundell, who is coming off a debut win in the Circle against Diandra Martin in February. The 17-year-old made a name on the Thai fight circuit after basing herself in Pattaya, where she trains at Fairtex.
While Sundell has shown that she is an incredible athlete, Buntan is confident in her skills and training. With international experience prior to her professional career and years spent within the sport, she is ready to claim the ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship and complete a journey over a dozen years in the making.
“Ever since I started Muay Thai as a young girl, I was 11 years old, like it's 13 years in the making. It just shows, it will really prove to me that with all the hard work and doubt and self-belief, all the ups and downs, I stay true to what I want and stay true to myself,” she said.
Buntan will face off against Sundell at ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic, which goes down live on April 22 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Watch ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22 at ONE Super App and subscribe to ONE Championship on YouTube!
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship
