"She's been doing well for herself" - Smilla Sundell says Natalia Diachkova's shot at gold well-earned

Smilla Sundell may be considered to be one of the best strikers in ONE Championship but that doesn't mean she is underestimating her upcoming opponent.

The Swede sensation has spoken highly of Natalia Diachkova, who will stand across from her in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22.

Unfortunately, missing weight forced Sundell to be stripped of her ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship ahead of fight night.

She now knows that the only way to redeem herself is to put on a show inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and secure the win before going back to the drawing board to plan for the future.

Diachkova, on the other hand, is still eligible to win the world championship after the fight was agreed to at a catchweight limit.

The Russian competitor has put in some impressive performances under the ONE Championship banner and Smilla Sundell believes that she is a very worthy opponent.

In an interview with ONE Championship, she gave her opponent credit and outlined her as a legitimate threat:

"I think she deserves it, a shot at the world title. Initially, I was kinda surprised, but I think she's been doing well for herself"

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Smilla Sundell has been proven to thrive under pressure

There was already a lot of weight on the shoulders of Smilla Sundell as she prepared to compete in her first main event as the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion.

However, after losing her title on the scales, this pressure is only going to increase now that she needs to secure the win to try and bounce back from this tough moment on weigh-in day.

Sundell will need to show that same championship heart and elite-level focus to make sure that she gets her hand raised at all costs on May 3.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.