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Jackie Buntan was confident she'd leave ONE 169 with 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold.
The 27-year-old did that after going toe-to-toe with seven-time titleholder Anissa Meksen for five rounds. The team Boxing Works member fought towards a unanimous decision victory over 'C18' inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, leaving with the ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world championship.
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When asked how she felt just before the scorecards were read during her appearance on The Casuals podcast, Buntan revealed that despite looking anxious, she was more than confident she'd walk away with her hand raised. She said:
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"I was confident. I was very confident. The rules say, if you're throwing more shots that are clearly getting through and rocking that girl or that guy, then you're scoring versus, like, quick little shots that may touch you, but they're not damaging shots if you know what I mean.
She further added:
"But yeah, I was very confident. But everyone's like, ‘Why do you look lost and you look like you're about to have a panic attack?’"
Watch the full episode (Quotes from 25:50):
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
Jackie Buntan vs. Smilla Sundell II in 2025?
While Jackie Buntan is now the queen of the strawweight kickboxing division, she's not giving up on her dream of one day holding Muay Thai gold. She said:
"The goal is to keep defending the kickboxing belt, then dabble with both kickboxing and Muay Thai in terms of who I want to fight. I'm not really thinking about anyone or focused on anyone."
One potential option for her return to the Circle could be a long-awaited rematch with Swedish phenom Smilla Sundell — the only woman to beat the 27-year-oldunder the ONE Championship banner.
Sundell defeated the American to win the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 156 in 2022 but has since surrendered the belt after failing to make weight ahead of her scheduled defense against Natalia Diachkova in May.
Could we see the Swedish fighter and Buntan run it back for the vacant strawweight strap in 2025?
