"She's not scared" - Superbon says Jackie Buntan is confident ahead of Smilla Sundell showdown on April 22

Superbon is excited for the next ONE event. The promotion's upcoming fight card, which will be underway on April 22, will see the crowning of the inaugural ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai champion.

Swedish knockout queen Smilla Sundell will lock horns with Muay Thai tactician Jackie Buntan in this championship bout. Buntan is undefeated in ONE Championship and formerly trained with Superbon, the reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing champion.

In a recent interview, Superbon discussed the upcoming title fight. Having trained with Buntan, he had this to say:

"She's not scared... Sometimes you jump in the ring and you don't feel scared of anyone. You don't feel scared you're going to lose your control, you're going to fake being shy, no, she's not. She wants to learn... That's good for the fighter. When you want to learn when you're hurt, when you're tired, even if you cannot win. That's a good thing, I see that in Jackie."

The Thai-born champion compliments Jackie Buntan's intelligence when it comes to Muay Thai. Her greatest strength, he explains, is her tactical mindset and ability to not have fear. Despite Sundell having an 11 cm height advantage, Superbon believes Buntan will emerge victorious.

"I know her and I know Jackie's trainer. He talked about this fight to me... He thinks the same way [as] me... Jackie is going to beat her, but [it's] not easy. Because [Sundell] is very big and the skill level is close. But the fight is 50-50 for me... I think Jackie going to win."

Watch the full interview below:

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Superbon and Jackie Buntan discuss anxiety and fear

Fighting on the world’s biggest can be taxing and stressful for combat sports athletes. Nevertheless, both Jackie Buntan and Superbon have been able to fight internationally in front of massive audiences. How do they handle anxiety?

The ONE kickboxing world champion explained his fighting mindset in the same interview, saying:

"You don't have to think [about] anything. You clear your mind before you jump in the ring. And, you think what you trained, everyday. You just think what you trained everyday, what you're doing every day. Jump in the ring and do that."

Top contender Jackie Buntan has a slightly different mindset when entering fights. In a recent interview with ONE Championship, she said:

"I don't like losing but I think I'm definitely more nervous, more scared of getting hurt... There's another woman standing across from me trying to take my head off, essentially. So that definitely gets me nervous... I just have my headphones in and I'm napping before I get out there and do my walkout... I'm literally just listening to music and napping most of the time.”