“I did that” - Jackie Buntan reflects on her long and arduous journey to capture women’s strawweight kickboxing throne

Jackie Buntan knew she just reached the pinnacle of her sport when she took down the legendary Anissa Meksen at ONE 169.

The Filipino-American standout scored a stunning upset win over the French-Algerian icon for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world title this past weekend at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

Buntan and Meksen engaged in a technical back-and-forth that ushered in another chapter in ONE Championship's growing push for women's martial arts.

Taking to Instagram, Buntan reflected on the years she spent hitting the bags en route to her world title victory against Meksen, which solidified her spot in women's kickboxing.

Jackie Buntan wrote:

"Sixteen years in the making and I'm the inaugural Women's ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion. A vision and dream I never gave up on. I knew it was already in my cards- I just had to trust in my own timing. Facing a legend in the game makes the victory that much sweeter."

She added:

"Stay hungry, stay true to yourself, and trust in your own timing. It’s unbelievable what you can achieve. I did THAT :) #NewGeneration @onechampionship @yodchatri"

Buntan and Meksen battled through five arduous rounds, but the former's total dealt damage ultimately swayed the judges in her favor for the unanimous decision win.

The 27-year-old is the second fighter from Boxing Works to capture a ONE world title after Janet Todd, who retired this past March, held the ONE atomweight kickboxing and interim atomweight Muay Thai world titles.

Buntan is also the seventh fighter of Filipino descent to capture a ONE world title.

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Jackie Buntan gives props to Anissa Meksen after their world title duel

Jackie Buntan may be the one who left Bangkok with the gold, but she didn't forget to raise Anissa Meksen's name into hallowed territory.

During the card's post-event press conference, Buntan said Meksen will always remain one of the greatest strikers of all time:

"Anissa is a legend in the game. I remember watching her when I was still in high school. So it was a very big fight, a very big opportunity, but that's the type of fight I wanted, especially for the belt. You've got to beat the best, to be the best. I didn't take her lightly, I didn't underestimate her at all. But going in there, I felt so confident. I felt like I was the better fighter right before the [first] round even started, to be honest."

Watch Buntan's entire interview below: