“She’s everything to me” - Anissa Meksen says her mother’s unconditional love inspires her to chase greatness

There is no bigger source of inspiration for Anissa Meksen than her mother.

Meksen goes into ONE 169 on Friday, November 8, with 103 career wins on her resume, but none of them will be bigger than getting her hand raised against the heavy-hitting Jackie Buntan in Thailand.

Meksen and Buntan will battle it out inside Bangkok's legendary Lumpinee Stadium for the opportunity to become the ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world champion.

Before stepping back on martial arts' biggest global stage, Meksen shared an emotional statement about the importance of her mother's support, telling ONE Championship:

“My mother is my mother. It’s unconditional love. She has a big heart. She’s everything to me. She is in my heart every time. My mother was the first person that I knew. She was my first love. She did everything for me as a child. She’s amazing, simply."

With wins over Cristina Morales, Marie Ruumet, and Dangkongfah Banchamek, 'C18' has looked nothing short of impressive inside the Circle, but if she hopes to leave the Mecca of Muay Thai with 26 pounds of gold, she'll have to get past one of the toughest women in combat sports.

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Like Anissa Meksen, Boxing Works star Jackie Buntan will be seeking her first-ever ONE world championship at ONE 169.

Buntan entered the promotion in 2021 and immediately made a name for herself via a trio of wins against Nat 'Wondergirl' Jaroonsak, Ekaterina Vandaryeva, and Daniela Lopez. That earned her a shot at then-ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell at ONE 156.

Unfortunately, Buntan came up short against 'The Hurricane,' but she has since bounced back with three more wins, besting Amber Kitchen, Diandra Martin, and most recently, Martine Michieletto, to climb back into the contender's circle.

If she can earn a big win over the seven-time titleholder at ONE 169, Buntan will achieve a dream she has been working toward for nearly a decade.

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’ live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, November 8 in U.S. primetime.