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With her ONE world title clash with Smilla Sundell a few short weeks away, challenger Natalia Diachkova is looking as sharp as ever.
On Friday, May 3, the 'Karelian Lynx' will step into the spotlight at ONE Fight Night 22 for a main event showdown with Smilla Sundell, challenging the Swedish teen phenom for the ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world championship at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Recently, Diachkova gave fight fans a glimpse at her clinical precision while honing her skills at the gym.
Diachkova has looked nothing short of impressive in her first four appearances with the promotion. Making her promotional debut in April 2023 on ONE's Friday Fights series inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, she dispatched Thai standout Dokmaipa Fairtex in just under two minutes. She followed that up with a repeat performance, KO'ing Lena Locker at 1:58 of the opening round.
Since then, her unanimous decision victory over Hannah Brady and a third sub-two-minute knockout of Chellina Chirino have earned her the right to challenge Sundell in hopes of becoming the first woman to hand 'The Hurricane' a loss under the ONE Championship banner.
Smilla Sundell ready to stop the momentum of Natalia Diachkova in its tracks
Standing in Natalia Diachkova's way of claiming 26 pounds of gold is perhaps the greatest female Muay Thai fighter on the planet. An especially impressive statement when you consider that Smilla Sundell is only 19 years old.
In four appearances with the promotion, Sundell is a perfect 4-0 — like Diachkova. 'The Hurricane' kickstarted her run with a third-round knockout of Aussie standout Diandra Martin. The very next fight, she claimed her first world title with the promotion, delivering a dominant performance against Boxing Works star Jackie Buntan to claim the ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world title.
Perhaps her most impressive win came in September when she stepped inside the Circle for a scrap with fellow world titleholder, ONE atomweight Muay Thai queen Allycia Hellen Rodrigues.
Sundell put away the Brazilian beauty in the third round with an absolutely vicious onslaught of strikes to retain her world title and further establish herself as one of the deadliest strikers in female combat sports.
Who comes out on top when two strawweight knockout artists go toe-to-toe inside Bangkok's fabled Mecca of Muay Thai?
ONE Championship fans in the United States can watch ONE Fight Night 22 live and for free on Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, May 3.
