Jackie Buntan says Janet Todd is even scarier now than just a few months ago

Jackie Buntan and Janet Todd are living proof of the old martial arts saying that iron sharpens iron. The two elite strikers have trained alongside one another, constantly improving one another just by being around a fellow top competitor in striking. Buntan has spent a lot of time in recent months helping her training partner prepare for her atomweight Muay Thai world championship unification clash against the returning Allycia Hellen Rodrigues.

The fight was originally scheduled to take place at ONE on Prime Video 5 but was postponed after Todd tested positive for COVID-19. Whilst it has meant that she has had a long wait for the rescheduled contest at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24, Buntan believes that it has only made her even better prepared for the champion versus champion clash.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Jackie Buntan said:

“I'm a big believer that things happen for a reason. I think this happened for a reason. Because watching her in fight camp now versus her fight camp in November up until December, pretty much is, she was an absolute weapon. She could have totally fought her then, but in her fight camp now, she's using different things, different tools in her arsenal that I've never dealt with, which is scary because I've been training for 15 years now. And she puts me in situations where I don't know what to do. And I've never felt that in a long time. I'm in a situation where I don't know what to do. So I think the time has helped her 100% because she's been able to add a lot more tools to her arsenal, and those tools are working.”

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Jackie Buntan says Janet Todd is aware of Allycia Hellen Rodrigues’ fast-paced fighting style

Jackie Buntan has been helping her Boxing Works teammate Janet Todd prepare for her upcoming clash at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24. In a huge Muay Thai world championship unification clash, Todd will put her interim title on the line against the returning titleholder Allycia Hellen Rodrigues.

Rodrigues has only fought once under the ONE Championship banner but she made a big impression. On her debut in 2020, the Brazilian shocked the world by dethroning Stamp Fairtex before deciding to take some time off to give birth to her first child.

Her performance against Stamp alone was enough to put the rest of the division on notice so whilst we haven’t seen her compete in three years, Todd knows she is in for a tough fight in Singapore.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Jackie Buntan spoke about how her long-time friend and training partner stacks up against Rodrigues:

“Allycia’s a really good fighter. I like her style. She’s fun to watch. She – and her gym in general – they definitely have a style to them where they’re good at being in front of you. Not necessarily running at you at a crazy pace, but they’re able to keep that pace where they’re just constantly in front of you."

Jackie Buntan added:

"We’re aware of that – just being able to deal with that. Of course, I’m always betting my money on Janet. I’m very confident she’ll be the [undisputed] Muay Thai world champion.”