"That fight proved I had heart" - Jackie Buntan sees positives in Smilla Sundell defeat ahead of second shot at gold

Muay Thai savant Jackie Buntan says she took many lessons from her last world title fight with Swedish sensation 'The Hurricane' Smilla Sundell.

The two superstars collided in the ONE 156 co-main event in Singapore for the inaugural ONE strawweight Muay Thai gold in April 2022. As everyone expected, Buntan and Sundell put on a firefight for five full rounds, giving it their all in order to etch their name in the history books.

Unfortunately for her, Buntan came up short but she looks back on that fight with pride for persevering all the way to that final bell.

Explaining some of the biggest takeaways from her loss to Sundell, Jackie Buntan told Violent Money TV:

"I really came in tune with myself as a fighter and as an athlete. I knew I could push myself to the limit and sustain that. I knew that I had heart, but that fight truly showed me that I could do whatever.

The Boxing Works athlete continued:

"I had to dig deep and push through in that fight and that I did. I lost, obviously, [but] I feel like I didn't slow down. I kept fighting up until the fifth round. That fight proved I had heart, I had grit, and even if I get pulled down into rough waters, I won't let myself get pulled down. I have the ability to keep swimming, and keep going."

See the interview below:

Jackie Buntan returns to the circle on Friday, Nov. 8, to lock horns with Anissa Meksen for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world championship. They'll do battle at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug', which airs live in Canada and the United States via Prime Video.

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Jackie Buntan narrowly makes the cut for her ONE 169 world title brawl with Anissa Meksen

Jackie Buntan is jumping with joy after successfully passing weight and hydration requirements for her world title fight at ONE 169.

The 27 year-old star sighed a deep breath of relief when she narrowly reached the 125-pound mark on the scales.

Her rival Anissa Meksen, also made weight at 124.5 pounds to solidify their anticipated brawl inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Just hours ago, Buntan released footage of her weigh-ins with her nutritionist captioning the title:

"Championship weight made for @jackiebuntan. Now time to rehydrate and refuel. And the new!!"

Check out Jackie Buntan's tense moment below: