ONE Championship: ‘fearless’ Jackie Buntan resumes her quest for the strawweight Muay Thai crown that got away
- Filipina-American Buntan says she has put the tough defeat in a title decider two years against world champion Smilla Sundell behind her
- She now faces Italian Martine Michieletto, who has won her past 15 fights and is considered a worthy adversary, at ONE Fight Night 20 in Bangkok
In Muay Thai everyone loses eventually. No fighter ever gets to retire undefeated but there is one loss that clearly hit Jackie Buntan hard.
That defeat, of course, was in April 2022, when the Filipina-American Buntan locked horns with Smilla Sundell of Sweden for the inaugural strawweight Muay Thai title at ONE Championship 156 in Singapore.
And lost, after a bruising, no-holds-barred encounter.
It was clearly a setback for the Los Angeles-born-and-raised fighter, but Buntan thinks it was a valuable learning experience.
“I took so much away from that loss. Losing sucks, especially losing a world title but there is no growth without defeat. You are going to lose here and there, that’s part of the game. I’ve learned so much mentally, physically I’ve improved so much and I’m fearless after that.”