Smilla Sundell "happy" to see former rival Jackie Buntan earn her chance at strawweight kickboxing gold

Swedish phenom Smilla Sundell is happy to see former rival Jackie Buntan get a crack at the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world title later this year. She believes the Filipino-American fighter is deserving of the opportunity for the way she gives her all in every fight.

Buntan will vie for the strawweight kickboxing gold at ONE Fight Night 23 in July against veteran Anissa Meksen.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Smilla Sundell shared her thoughts on Buntan, who she faced in a tightly fought contest for the inagural ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai gold in April 2022, getting the chance to claim the kickboxing belt:

"Anyone who steps in the ring with me. I think Jackie is, for sure, a good challenge for me. I'm happy she gets to fight for the kickboxing belt now."

Check out what she had to say below:

While she is happy for her former rival, Smilla Sundell is savoring her recent ONE Championship victory, notwithstanding that along the way she was stripped of the strawweight Muay Thai gold.

'The Hurricane' stopped Russian Natalia Diachkova by TKO in the second round of their catchweight (126 pounds) Muay Thai clash at ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3 in Bangkok, Thailand.

It was initially a title defense for Sundell but after she missed weight in the lead-up, she was stripped of the title and had no chance of reclaiming the belt even with the win on fight night.

Still it did not stop her from going for an impressive and convincing victory that stretch her undefeated ONE Championship run to five straight.

The replay of the full card of ONE Fight Night 22 is available to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Smilla Sundell believes she would also do well in kickboxing

Smilla Sundell is still focused on competing in Muay Thai but believes she would also do well if ever she decides to dip her hands in kickboxing.

The former ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion intimated in an interview with the South China Morning Post that she does see transitioning to kickboxing as too much of a stretch for her, seeing how Muay Thai and kickboxing as not too far off.

The 19-year-old Fairtex Training Center standout said:

"I think kickboxing is more like sparring in my eyes because it's big gloves. So I will just do my usual thing that I do in Muay Thai."

Interestingly, if Sundell decides to compete in kickboxing as well, she could come across former rival Jackie Buntan of the United States again. She is vying for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing gold in July against Anissa Meksen of Algeria.