Smilla Sundell.
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eventeen-year-old Swedish phenom Smilla Sundell is set to battle Filipina-American powerhouse Jackie Buntan for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world championship at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday.
While still young, and with only a single bout in ONE Championship to her name, “The Hurricane” has already made a strong case for her chances to snag the strawweight gold. Before signing with ONE, she established herself throughout the Muay Thai circuit in her adopted homeland of Thailand. Then in February this year, Sundell made waves when she defeated Australia’s Diandra Martin via a total knockout (TKO) in her debut on the global stage.
The teenage star trains at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, and is often surrounded by inspirational fighters. But when it comes to following in their footsteps, Sundell looks no further than former two-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex.
“My relationship with Stamp is good. She's a big inspiration of mine. I look up to her. When I see her train every day, it motivates me to want to do better. And I see her as a big sister. I think her best quality is her heart. Like, she never gives up, and she's so strong,” Sundell said.
“I watched a lot of Stamp’s fights in ONE Championship, and saw her train at Fairtex and was inspired by her. I wanted to be like her.”
Read also: Regian Eersel predicts quick finish of Arian Sadikovic at ONE 156
“The Hurricane” will be facing a seasoned opponent in Buntan, who has previously represented the United States in international tournaments. The Boxing Works athlete currently has a perfect 3-0 record in the Circle, and her debut performance against former Fairtex representative, Wondergirl, set mouths agape after she dropped the teen star early in their bout on the way to a unanimous decision win.
Despite Buntan's accolades, Sundell remains focused on the game plan she has developed and not her rival's experience.
“I think she will do the same as usual. Like, boxing, fast combinations, and stuff. I trained for her style, and I’m confident I can beat her. I think I'm taller than her. And I'm also very aggressive,” she said.
Catch ONE 156: Eersel vs Sadikovic live on Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, NETVERSE or MAXstream, beginning with the lead card at 4 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Friday.
The main card broadcasts live on Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, NETVERSE and MAXstream at 7:30 p.m. Also, NET TV will air a same-day encore at 10 p.m.
This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship