"There's a lot to improve on" - Smilla Sundell says she has to get better following title win

Smilla Sundell was near unstoppable when she beat Jackie Buntan via unanimous decision to become the inaugural ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world champion.

The 17-year-old phenom used her superior height and length to land the critical shots in the co-main event of ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic. Despite her almost flawless performance, Sundell admits that there’s still a lot to improve on if she plans to have a lengthy title reign at ONE Championship.

At the post-event press conference, Sundell said she needs to utilize her kicks more in the future. The Fairtex Training Center star said:

“I’m happy with my performance but there’s a lot to improve on, but I was happy… I think I have to kick more and switch it up a bit,” said Smilla Sundell.

The 5-foot-8 Sundell wasn’t just five inches taller than Buntan, she also enjoyed a more than two inches of reach advantage. That length and height combination allowed Sundell to keep her distance and use her jab to keep Buntan at bay.

The Swedish prodigy also avoided the devastating left hook that Buntan used effectively in her previous three wins. Buntan and Sundell were still going tit-for-tat in the first three rounds of the fight but Sundell ultimately dictated the proceedings starting in the fourth.

Sundell showed her aggression in the fourth, going on a relentless stream of strikes that had Buntan in all sorts of trouble. Still, she felt that she could’ve done more in the final two rounds.

“I started slow because I feel I wasn’t warm enough, but like in the third round I came back better [from the corner] I think. [My coaches told me] that they were happy, but they said that there’s still stuff to improve on, but that’s for later.”

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Smilla Sundell is ready to defend her belt against anybody

She may still be a teenager, but Smilla Sundell is ready to rule over her division. She said a rematch with Buntan is to be expected as well as a a title defense against multiple-time world champion Iman Barlow.

“I saw that Iman Barlow did good in her last fight. Yeah I think [that would be a fun matchup]. I’ll fight anyone [to be honest]. I’m not very familiar [with her] but I know who she is.”

Barlow, an English kickboxer, is the current WBC Muay Thai world champion and made her debut at ONE Championship in March 2022 with a first-round technical knockout win over Daniela Lopez.