"Maybe I would make it" - Smilla Sundell admits she was fine shaving her head to make strawweight limit vs Natalia Diachkova

ONE Fight Night 22 was one of the most difficult events of Smilla Sundell's career so far. Given how long she has been competing at the very highest level, it can be easy to forget that Sundell is still so early in her career.

The 19-year-old is still constantly learning and growing with each passing fight. Sundell came into ONE Fight Night 22 to defend her ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship but was stripped of the belt after missing weight.

She was clearly emotional, and the conversation of whether she needed to move up a weight class became the defining talking point.

At one stage, it looked like the champion would have to cut off all of her hair in order to make the weight.

She reflected on the events in a YouTube video recently uploaded on her channel, where she detailed everything that happened both before and during the fight. She said:

"We thought if I cut my hair, maybe I would be able to make it. But it was only a quarter pound. And yeah, it was not enough. So I skipped on shaving my head, and I lost my belt because I didn't make the weight."

Watch the full video below:

Smilla Sundell is undeniably tough

If there's one thing that Smilla Sundell proved at ONE Fight Night 22, it's that she is made of sterner stuff even.

She battled adversity ahead of the fight and inside the Circle itself following a strong start from Natalia Diachkova. Sundell, however, rallied to find the finish in the second round and closed the show inside Lumpinee Stadium in style before turning her attention to what is next.

She believes that with more time to prepare herself, she can still compete at strawweight where she hopes to reclaim her title.

Whether this is next or not, you can't deny the champion's resolve that she showed on that night in Bangkok.