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Jackie Buntan hopes her impressive world title win at ONE 169 will inspire more girls to pursue martial arts.
Returning to the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, for her first kickboxing bout under the ONE banner, Buntan delivered a sensational showing against seven-time titleholder Anissa Meksen. After five entertaining rounds of action, the Boxing Works star was awarded the win via unanimous decision, capturing the inaugural ONE strawweight kickboxing world championship in the process.
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It was a life-changing performance for Buntan, but more importantly, she hopes that her success will bring more future female champions into the sport.
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"So being able to be part of history as a Filipino-American woman, to be able to pave the way and hopefully inspire more girls, more people out there to do the same, and hopefully they look at me and see something they can relate to," Buntan told Combat Sports Today.
Buntan improved her ONE Championship record to 7-1 with the win over Meksen.
Jackie Buntan knows keeping her title will be a greater challenge than winning it
After finally breaking through and collecting her first 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold, Jackie Buntan believes the real challenge is keeping the title wrapped around her waist.
"I'm satisfied I reached this goal, like you said, I've had my eyes on [it] for so long," she said. "But there are a thousand percent more things for me to prove. Getting the belt is one thing. The true test is keeping that belt, defending it, staying on top, and creating that legacy. So there's definitely more to prove."
Buntan has not yet booked her first defense of the strawweight kickboxing crown, but she has every intention of taking on all comers while continuing to compete in her first love — Muay Thai.
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
