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At just 26 years old, Jackie Buntan is in no rush to make any drastic changes in her career at this current stage.
The Filipino-American standout has been campaigning in the strawweight Muay Thai division for some time now, becoming one of the leading names on ONE’s female striking roster.
Jackie Buntan also believes that she has the potential to compete in the atomweight division when she decides that the time is right. For now, she is still confident that there is unfinished business to attend to at strawweight with big fights still out there.
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Rather than making a rash decision and deciding to drop down a weight class to chase after other exciting opportunities, the contender intends to continue chipping away at the heavier weight class before approaching a change like that later on in her career.
She told Sportskeeda MMA that it isn’t on her mind right now despite being an option for the future:
“Once I feel like there’s nothing left for me, then it would probably make sense for me to go elsewhere and seek challenges. But currently, right now, I don’t even want to think about going lower in weight.”
Jackie Buntan still has a score to settle at strawweight
Jackie Buntan hasn’t just been in the mix in the strawweight division, she has established herself as one of the top contenders in and around the top spot.
The factor of the matter is that she still has a score to settle in this weight class with the current world champion, Smilla Sundell.
Sundell defeated Buntan in their first meeting back at ONE 156 in 2022, where the Swede claimed the inaugural world championship.
Having produced an excellent pair of wins to bounce back from the loss, Buntan was set to face Sundell in a rematch this past September at ONE Fight Night 14, but the fight wasn’t to be.
Avenging her loss to the champion to try and claim strawweight gold will surely be the primary focus of the 26-year-old for the foreseeable future.
