“She learned everything” - Lito Adiwang says Smilla Sundell’s exposure to Fairtex’s top talents accelerated her growth as a fighter

Lito Adiwang believes Smilla Sundell has the perfect avenue to quickly accelerate as one of the best fighters of her generation.

The ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion is only 19 years old and is already considered among the best strikers on the planet.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Adiwang said Sundell's rapid rise to the top was the product of studying at the famed Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand.

"Of course, her sparring partners were more advanced than her at that point. So she learned everything, the technique, new moves, everything helped her develop her strengths as a striker. That's why I wasn't surprised that she developed really fast," said Lito Adiwang.

Fairtex Training Center is often considered one of the best martial arts gyms in the world and one of its prized pupils wound up conquering three disciplines in ONE Championship.

Stamp Fairtex is arguably the gym's best fighter and reigned as the ONE atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion before she captured the ONE women's atomweight world championship in 2023.

Sundell now puts her gym's reputation on the line when she defends the ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world title against Natalia Diachkova at ONE Fight Night 22.

ONE Fight Night 22 goes down on May 3 at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. The entire card is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Lito Adiwang says he's not surprised with Smilla Sundell's rapid ascent

While teenagers are getting stressed out with homework and extracurricular activities, Smilla Sundell was putting the hurt on her training partners.

Sundell is the personification of a young phenom, and Lito Adiwang said the Swedish sensation's work ethic made her a dangerous fighter at such a young age.

"I wasn't really surprised because for me, the process that she went through -- she's been training since she was a kid, and she's just in the gym, always in the gym -- that's why she developed incredibly fast as a fighter, especially since she was just a kid when she started," said Adiwang in an interview with ONE Championship.