Smilla Sundell proud to play a pivotal role in bringing women’s martial arts to a broader scale: “It’s very exciting”

She may be a teenager, but Smilla Sundell is already at the forefront of women’s martial arts.

The 18-year-old is one of the best strikers on the planet in the current era. and she’ll defend the ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world title against Allycia Hellen Rodrigues at ONE Fight Night 14.

Sundell’s first defense of her world title goes down on ONE Fight Night 14 on September 29, US primetime, at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Sundell gushed at how women’s combat sports are on a steady rise on the global scale especially with how fans watch and consume the product.

The Swedish phenom said:

“People are starting to see the excitement the female fights bring now. I get messages on Instagram and everywhere saying, ‘Oh, wow, these female fighters are so good,’ and it’s very exciting.”

‘The Hurricane’ rightfully deserved her place in the co-main event spot of ONE Fight Night 14, which is shaping up to be a historic event for ONE Championship. The card has three world title fights, and its four headlining bouts feature all-female matchups.

Sundell holds an impressive 34-5-1 record in her professional career, and her perfect run in ONE Championship made her an absolute rockstar in the Muay Thai community.

The Fairtex Training Center star is 3-0 in ONE Championship and has been utterly dominant during that stretch as she overpowered Diandra Martin, Jackie Buntan, and Milana Bjelogrlic.

Sundell was originally scheduled to defend the ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world title against Buntan in a highly anticipated rematch, but the Filipino-American star had to pull out of the match due to family matters.

Stepping into the fray is Rodrigues, the reigning ONE atomweight Muay Thai world champion. Rodrigues could be Sundell’s toughest opponent yet. The Brazilian star is a perfect 2-0 in ONE Championship with her wins coming at the expense of Stamp Fairtex and reigning ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion Janet Todd.

Sundell’s superfight against Rodrigues, as well as the entire ONE Fight Night 14 card, is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.