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Despite exclusively competing under Muay Thai rules in ONE, Jackie Buntan looked extremely comfortable in her first kickboxing battle at ONE 169 last month.
So much so, that the Filipino-American sensation edged out arguably one of the most decorated female strikers in the world, Anissa Meksen, to claim the inaugural women's strawweight kickboxing world championship.
Appearing as a guest on The Casuals Podcast, Buntan eloquently explained the biggest change she made to make a seamless adjustment from Muay Thai to kickboxing.
"The biggest difference was getting inside and being like that, like, smother, stay inside. Typically, when I would get there, I just back up and go where it's like, no, you're in there. You stay there. I'm just, I. Make it uncomfortable for her."
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Pressure and volume are indeed a big part of Jackie Buntan's ferocious striking style. The Boxing Works star typically loves to enter the pocket to land her shots and then pull back before her opponents can fire back.
Once she gets them to overcommit, Buntan makes his hapless foes pay with her trademark left hook power shot.
Against Meksen, however, Buntan notably stayed at closed range and peppered 'C18' with her brilliant punching repertoire for the full 15 minutes.
Watch the full episode of The Casuals Podcast featuring Jackie Buntan:
Jackie Buntan finally lives up to her full potential
Jackie Buntan always had the talent to make it atop the women's striking ranks. While her first attempt to claim 26 pounds of gold didn't go her way, the 27-year-old star simply picked up the pieces and continued grinding behind closed doors.
After countless blood, sweat, and tears shed, Buntan can now call herself a world champion. The Filipina-American told ONE:
"I’m lost for words. I’ve been training since I was 11. I’m 27 now and I’ve been dreaming about this and hoping about it. It just feels surreal that it’s actually in my arms right now."
