Jackie Buntan reveals she chose ONE Championship over rival promotion to make her pro debut

Newly crowned ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world champion Jackie Buntan of the United States and the Philippines had her pick between two big striking organizations when she was just on the come-up.

The 27-year-old Boxing Works product made her professional debut not too long ago and revealed recently that she chose to compete in the world's largest martial arts organization over other promotions.

Speaking as a guest on The Casuals podcast, Buntan detailed her journey to becoming a professional fighter in ONE Championship.

The Filipina-American star stated:

"I was supposed to turn pro when I was 22, was that 2019? I got a WCK organization, like, super local one within L.A., San Diego. And then I had some issues where the fight fell through. I was like, okay, whatever. And around that time, I got an offer from Glory Kickboxing. And then, like, two weeks after, ONE Championship came with an offer."

Buntan ultimately chose ONE over Glory and today, she is now the reigning strawweight kickboxing queen.

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Jackie Buntan on how she first discovered kickboxing: "It wasn't for me"

Believe it or not, Filipina-American strawweight kickboxing queen Jackie Buntan didn't think initially that she was going to be a fighter. The 27-year-old said she had no idea, but after witnessing and experiencing it firsthand, Buntan fell in love instantly.

She told The Casuals:

"I had no idea what I was watching, but, like, I don't know, it just looked so straightforward at a young age. I had no idea what it was, but I was like, this looks like these people are just straight up kicking each other, punching each other. Looks like so useful if I needed to use it. And yeah, I just googled the closest gym to me, which was Boxing Works, [near] Hermosa Beach and been with Boxing Works and Brian [Popejoy] ever since."

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding Jackie Buntan's next fight.