Ahead of their title clash, Jackie Buntan and Smilla Sundell are showing each other great respect. The Filipino-American knows her 17-year-old Swedish opponent at ONE 156 is a serious threat.
Buntan and Sundell will fight on April 22 for the inaugural ONE Muay Thai women's strawweight championship. In a recent interview, the 24-year-old sat down with Dylan Bowker for Sportskeeda MMA and spoke about her opponent:
"I know she's been in the circuit for quite some time. She's only 17 and has I don't know almost 40 fights, or something like that. That's great."
Jackie Buntan is known for being a very technical Muay Thai practitioner. Contrastingly, her opponent utilizes an aggressive style where she looks to walk down her opponents. The California-born striker had this to say about Sundell's approach to fighting:
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"Given her debut fight I think... she's just a tenacious fighter, you know. Call it stubborn, in a way, she just will come at you, you come forward. So I think having that type of strength to just come put that pressure on, I think she does well."
Catch the interview below:
While Buntan is giving her opponent due respect, she will do everything in her power to become ONE's first-ever Muay Thai women's strawweight champion on Friday.
Jackie Buntan preparing for 'The Hurricane' Smilla Sundell
Jackie Buntan is getting ready for her title fight on April 22 by working at Boxing Works gym. She is preparing to counter an aggressive style against an opponent taller and longer than her:
"I'm definitely sparring with all the guys who are taller... My coach has my sparring partners emulate whatever style... that I have to deal with. So that's really the difference in this camp... Competing in ONE Championship, you're competing against the best. Essentially you're competing against people who just take it as seriously as you do. So, you want to be prepared for any and everything going in there."
The 17-year-old Sundell will be looking to earn a world title at ONE 156 in only her second fight in the promotion. On April 22, she will be up against a skilled opponent who has prepared thoroughly for whatever the teenage phenom may bring to the fight.