Jackie Buntan on Smilla Sundell’s kickboxing transition: 'It should be interesting'

Filipina-American striking sensation Jackie Buntan is one of the top Muay Thai talents in the world. But as she works her way back into world title contention, the former ONE world title challenger can’t help but look over her shoulder and keep tabs on reigning ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell.

Buntan and Sundell battled for the inaugural women’s strawweight Muay Thai gold in April of 2022, with the Californian losing to the Swedish sensation via unanimous decision. Although Buntan was absolutely dominated by Sundell, the 25-year old learned a lot from the experience and developed the utmost respect for her rival.

Recently, there have been talks of Sundell wanting to try her hand at kickboxing and potentially competing for a belt in that sport. Buntan thinks it will be interesting to see.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Buntan shared her thoughts on Sundell’s possible transition to kickboxing.

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The Filipina-American said:

“It should be interesting to see her style translate into kickboxing, especially with the bigger gloves.”

Buntan is coming off a spectacular performance in her last fight, when she obliterated hard-hitting Australian fighter Diandra Martin inside of just one round in her U.S. debut.

The two warriors battled in front of a sold-out crowd at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video, which took place live on May 5 from the 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado.

Buntan showcased her brilliant hands, as well as sharp counterpunching to thwart Martin and eventually stop her with a combination just before the halfway mark of the first stanza.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of that fight and the rest of the stacked ONE Fight Night 10 card on replay on Amazon Prime.

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 Taimoor Malik