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Natalia Diachkova may be focused on the task at hand, but that doesn't mean she cannot appreciate the position she has found herself in.
The Russian competitor has earned her stripes in ONE Championship through her performances on the ONE Friday Fights series that bought her a ticket to the main roster.
She now looks to keep this momentum going by pulling off the biggest win of her career by beating Smilla Sundell to become the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion.
Whilst Sundell was stripped of the title on the scales after missing weight, the catchweight limit that was agreed to means Diachkova can still leave with the gold.
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Serving as the main event for ONE Fight Night 22, headliner life is something that Diachkova could get used to after this first taste of the big show ahead of May 3.
She earned this position with her hard work and dedication and she's more than happy to keep reaping the rewards of her success.
Natalia Diachkova told the South China Morning Post in a fight week interview that the past few days have been a perfect build to fight night:
"It feels great to level up from fight to fight and it feels great to live in the more expensive hotels. I feel amazing. I'm looking forward to the fight."
Watch the full interview below:
Natalia Diachkova isn't getting ahead of herself either
While she is happy to be basking in the limelight ahead of ONE Fight Night 22, Natalia Diachkova is well aware of what got her to the dance in the first place.
Winning is always the priority and she isn't prepared to start looking ahead to what could be waiting on the other side of this fight.
Beating Sundell to become the strawweight Muay Thai world champion would be a huge accomplishment but nothing that is that rewarding is easy.
Natalia Diachkova has put in the time already, so from here, it's about bringing the best version of herself to fight night at Lumpinee Stadium.
ONE Fight Night 22 will air live and free at US prime time for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.
