“It's super special” - Jackie Buntan thankful for opportunity to be featured attraction in major card for ONE Championship

Newly crowned ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world champion Jackie Buntan of the United States and the Philippines has quickly risen to superstar status in the world's largest martial arts organization, and for good reason.

The 27-year-old Boxing Works proponent is the ultimate package, combining superstar quality, good looks, and supreme fighting ability. So it's not a stretch of the imagination that she would always be considered to help headline major ONE Championship events.

A couple of weeks ago, she did just that in one of the biggest events of the year in ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Prime Video, and Buntan absolutely shined.

The Filipina-American fighter turned in an epic world title-winning performance against legendary French-Algerian kickboxer 'C18' Anissa Meksen, winning by unanimous decision after five rounds of action to capture the inaugural strawweight kickboxing belt.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Buntan says her position in ONE is a testament to how much women's combat sports have evolved throughout the years.

The 27-year-old said:

"I think it's very big for women. I only hope to see more female fights. Being able to headline one of the later cards in the year, it's super special and to do it for a world title makes it even that much more special."

ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Prime Video took place live from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand last Saturday, Nov. 9. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live via replay on-demand with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Jackie Buntan thankful for support from Filipinos all over the world: "It's a really cool feeling"

Jackie Buntan may have a shiny new belt draped over her shoulders, but she inherited much more than that in her world title victory over Anissa Meksen at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug on Prime Video. She gained the hopes and dreams of an entire nation.

An outpouring of support from Buntan's native Philippines came rushing through after she had won the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world title, and the 27-year-old was thankful for her countrymen.

Buntan told ONE:

"It's a really cool feeling and it's cool to know that I'll always have the support of my people even if I wasn't even born there and they're still taking me in. So that's one thing about Filipinos. We're always very passionate. And if you're Filipino, doing something big, they're gonna be rocking with you no matter what."