"I'm not a confident person" - Strawweight Muay Thai queen Smilla Sundell admits she still struggles with self esteem

When you watch the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell in action, you may forget what she is like outside of the ring.

The reigning champ is a ferocious competitor once she steps through the ropes and has no problem with pushing the action when she needs to.

However, when she isn't engaged in a contest where only one woman can emerge victorious, she is the total opposite.

The softly-spoken Swede is still working on herself to try and become a more confident person in day-to-day life.

Along with her evolution as a world-class striker, the 19-year-old is still growing away from her profession.

You wouldn't think it from the way she competes, but there's also a potential factor in her mindset, which is being even more focused on preparation and pushing herself to the limit in the gym as a result.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Sundell spoke about how her confidence is always something that she is trying to bring out with the help of her team and supporters:

"I'm not a confident person, to be honest. I got people helping me with that. My parents are a huge confidence boost. My friends around me also help a lot."

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The confidence of Smilla Sundell doesn't affect her status as one of the very best

Whilst she may be a shy character who doesn't always carry herself as one of the best in the world, this doesn't appear to affect her in the ring.

Sundell's lack of confidence is more than made up for by her intense competitive streak that takes over once the fight gets underway.

The strawweight Muay Thai queen may not always believe that she has the ability, but from the opening bell, she knows she is going to give everything to ensure that she comes away with the win.

This will certainly be the case when she returns to defend her title against Natalia Diachkova in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live from Lumpinee Stadium at US prime time for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.