ONE Championship: “I have to work hard regardless” - Jackie Buntan says her work ethic never changed after becoming ONE world champion

Reigning ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world champion Jackie Buntan now brandishes 26 pounds of gold over her shoulders, but it hasn't changed her work ethic as a fighter.

According to the Filipino-American star, everything about her life has remained the same, save for the fact that she's become a household name. The Boxing Works representative was recently interviewed by ONE Championship and described her daily life now that she holds the coveted gold.

Buntan told the world's largest martial arts organization:

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"In terms of my day-to-day life, it feels almost normal. Obviously I have some new sponsorships here and there, so that's great. I've always viewed it as if I have to work hard regardless. It doesn't matter what fight I have or what accolades I have, how much money I'm making - I always have to work hard, so that never changes."

Fans eagerly await the return of Jackie Buntan to the ONE Championship ring, as she is expected to defend her belt sometime later this year.

Jackie Buntan teases double champ run in ONE: "I've been training a bit more Muay Thai"

Jackie Buntan began her career in ONE Championship as a Muay Thai fighter, before recently winning the kickboxing belt. However, she's got eyes on the strawweight Muay Thai belt, left vacant by Smilla Sundell last year.

Buntan teased that she has gone back to training Muay Thai. She said:

"To be honest, nothing crazy. I've been working on a bit of everything. As of right now, we have nothing lined up, so I've kind of dabbled back and forth with the kickboxing rule set and Muay Thai rule set. I've been training a bit more Muay Thai - elbows, clinch, all that - just in hopes that that's what's going to come in the future."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Jackie Buntan's next fight.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

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Edited by Anurag Mitra