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| Jackie Buntan tries to add the ONE women's strawweight muay thai title to her collection. ONE Championship (file photo) |
MANILA--Filipina-American striking star Jackie Buntan has always wanted a ONE Muay Thai world title, and now she’ll have another chance to get it.
The ONE women’s strawweight kickboxing world champion eyes two-sport supremacy when she takes on the dangerous Stella Hemetsberger for the ONE women's strawweight muay thai world title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 35 on Sept. 6 inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Boxing Works representative has emerged as one of the faces of the women’s striking division, taking over the mantle of her now-retired teammate Janet “JT” Todd as the face of American kickboxing and Muay Thai.
While she fell short in her first attempt at getting the Muay Thai belt, she rebounded quite well by racking up three consecutive wins in “The Art of Eight Limbs,” which culminated with a gutsy decision win over the tough Martine Michieletto.
After those Muay Thai wins, she jumped over to kickboxing to finally lay her hands on 26 pounds of gold when she outlasted one of the best women’s kickboxers ever in Anissa Meksen to win the ONE women’s strawweight kickboxing world championship.
Now, she returns to her first love in Muay Thai, and with another shot at gold in the sport, she promises to not let this opportunity go past her once more.
It won’t be easy, though, against Hemetsberger, who had a decorated amateur career before translating her dominance over to the pro ranks.
She’s yet to taste defeat in the ONE Friday Fights circuit, going 3-0, including a beautiful head-kick KO win over Vanessa Romanowski that won her the US$100,000 contract to ONE’s main roster.
Not only did she get that contract, but she’ll be challenging for the gold in her first fight, making this truly an opportunity of a lifetime for the Austrian.
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