SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-American striker Jackie Buntan is eyeing a coronation following her impressive victory over Diandra Martin.
Buntan needed less than one round to dispatch Martin in their 131-pound catchweight muay thai bout at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III inside the sold-out 1stBank Center in Colorado on May 6.
After falling short in her bid to become the inaugural ONE women’s strawweight muay thai world champion last year, Buntan rebounded in an impressive manner, knocking out the tough Australian.
With that in mind, Buntan is now targeting two-sport glory, starting with the vacant ONE women’s strawweight kickboxing world title.
“I want to be a two-sport world champion in muay thai and kickboxing. Obviously, I did the muay thai fight last year. It didn’t go my way. That’s still on the horizon. But right now, I truly believe I’m the No. 1 contender for both,” she said.
“In terms of kickboxing, why do I want to do it first, and why do I want to do it now? It’s because I’m greedy. And no one has it yet. And I want to be the first one to have it, versus taking my time and being quiet about it.”
Should she win the vacant kickboxing crown, she’ll eye a rematch with the only woman to beat her in The Home of Martial Arts – reigning ONE women’s strawweight muay thai world champion Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell.
“[If I’d] win that inaugural belt, and if Smilla is ready, then kickboxing champ versus muay thai champ. I think that’d be a really cool show.”
If her last fight against Martin was any indication if Buntan is ready for a rematch, it certainly showed she indeed is.
Buntan pressured the Australian from the opening bell. A body shot and a huge right hand put Martin on the canvas for good, giving Buntan her first stoppage win in ONE.
“Athletes go through that feeling in the competition where they’re in the zone, in the flow, where everything’s just autopilot. It’s almost like you’re not even thinking. And I definitely experienced that from the start of the round, which was very cool because that was only my second time experiencing that,” she said.
“It wasn’t until [the referee] did the count, and she fell, and I was in the neutral corner. That’s kind of when I felt like I went back into the present moment.” – Rappler.com
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