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Jackie Buntan could be back between the ropes sooner rather than later.
The Filipino-American star hinted at her return to action after she suffered a toe injury ahead of her supposed world title fight against multi-time world champion Anissa Meksan.
Buntan was supposed to fight the French-Algerian legend for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 23.
More than a month after her supposed world title fight, Buntan took to Instagram to share her recovery progress and she teased that a return is possible in the next few months.
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Jackie Buntan posted:
"We are so back."
The 27-year-old showed off her progress in a short reel, and she opened her video post with a leg workout that showed that power in her right leg seems to have returned.
Buntan is one of the top strikers in the stacked ONE Championship roster, and she's also no stranger to challenging for the promotion's gold.
In her fourth fight for the promotion, Buntan faced Smilla Sundell for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 156 in Singapore.
The 5-foot-10 Sundell, though, used her six-inch height advantage over Buntan to take the gold via unanimous decision.
Buntan's loss to Sundell remains her only defeat in ONE Championship and she's since bounced back with three straight wins over Amber Kitchen, Diandra Martin, and Martine Michieletto.
Jackie Buntan determined to bounce back from injury
Jackie Buntan is aware of the magnitude of fighting for a piece of ONE Championship gold.
After failing to cash in her first opportunity against Smilla Sundell for the inaugural women's strawweight Muay Thai strap, Buntan was hellbent on becoming the first ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world champion.
Her injured toe, however, prevented her from taking on Anissa Meksen in Bangkok.
Nevertheless, Buntan is determined to return and put on a performance worthy of gold.
Taking to Instagram, she wrote:
"A little throwback to fight week. When you're on the grind, you wish for normalcy... when you have normalcy... you wish you're back on the grind ☯️. I can't wait to get back already!"
