"It was so ridiculous" - Jackie Buntan remembers the sports she played before becoming a fighter

Inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world champion Jackie Buntan, much like other children during their formative years, tried her hand at a handful of different sports before finding her true calling in martial arts.

In an interview with The Casuals, the Filipino-American star shared:

"I started training when I was 11 years old. I'm 27 now, so it's been quite a long time. I was definitely like a tomboy growing up. I was always outside, like, biking, skateboarding, trying to play soccer. I was never on a team, but I had the full setup at home. I had, like, shin guards, everything. It was so ridiculous."

Buntan continued:

"But I was really interested in martial arts when I was 11, and the closest things to me were taekwondo, karate, and I don't know, it doesn't really interest me. Like, no disrespect to that at all."

Watch the entire interview below:

The 28-year-old ultimately fell in love with Muay Thai, which turned out to be a life-changing decision for her as her 20-win amateur record caught the attention of ONE's brass.

After posting six wins in seven outings under the ONE banner, Buntan captured the inaugural women's strawweight kickboxing crown over legendary striker Anissa Meksen at ONE 169 this past November.

---

Jackie Buntan open to fighting kickboxing queens Stamp, Phetjeeja

Jackie Buntan wants to test her skills against ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex, who once held the 115-pound kickboxing and Muay Thai crowns, and ONE women's atomweight kickboxing queen Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom.

The Boxing Works athlete recently told Combat Sports Today:

"I know Stamp and Phetjeeja, obviously were kickboxing champs, and they'd do fantastic in both so I think it'd be an awesome fight to fight with either of them."