"I'll continue school soon, but I'm focused on fighting right now" - Smilla Sundell on being a teenager and ONE fighter

Teenage fighter Smilla Sundell is busy building her career in martial arts, but she’s not solely focusing her efforts on her profession.

Sundell is prepping for her match against Jackie Buntan for the inaugural ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world title. The bout is set for ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The 17-year-old star from Sweden plans to go back to school once she finds a bit more time outside of Muay Thai.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Sundell said she’d been taking online classes at one point, but had to stop momentarily due to her busy schedule.

Sundell said:

“I study a bit online but right now I’m having a break because I have a fight planned. But I will finish school soon. I'll continue school soon but I'm focused on fighting right now. I train, eat, sleep, and repeat every day.”

Nevertheless, Sundell plans to finish her education. She's just had to postpone it for a period of time to focus on her career.

In a previous interview with ONE Championship, Sundell said:

“Right now, I'm having a break but I do study online. Yeah, I did go to school [physically] when I was 14-15. And I trained only once a day back then because I couldn’t do it too early in the morning. I had to go to school. So training started, like after that. In the afternoon. Right now, I'm taking it slow. I want to focus on Muay Thai. And then I can always finish school later.”

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Smilla Sundell is confident she’ll get her hand raised against Jackie Buntan

Smilla Sundell has only fought under the ONE Championship banner once to date. Her debut saw her dominate Australia’s Diandra Martin en route to a third-round technical knockout win.

While the 24-year-old Buntan has fought three times in the promotion, Sundell expressed her confidence in going up against her more experienced opponent.

Sundell didn’t vehemently say how she’ll take the win, but she’s confident she’ll have ONE Championship’s new 26.4-pound belt slung over her shoulder come fight night.

“Oh, [I’m] not sure yet, but we will see on Friday with my hand in the air. It would mean the world [to me if I win]. It's my biggest dream coming true.”

Tune in to ONE 156 on April 22 to see if Smilla Sundell can secure a record-breaking title crowning.