“An Extremely Frustrating Situation”- Jackie Buntan’s Injury Forces Her to Pull Out of ONE Fight Night 23, Aiming to Reschedule the Fight Against Anissa Meksen

Disappointing news for kickboxing fans! The ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Title fight between Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen will not be able to push through next weekend. Buntan suffered an injury while training for the bout, originally scheduled for U.S. primetime on Friday, July 5, at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

Nevertheless, ONE Fight Night 23 will still go on, but with a new main event. Ok Rae Yoon will now face Alibeg Rasulov for the ONE Interim Lightweight MMA World Championship. The injury news first came from Jackie Buntan’s social media. 

Jackie Buntan withdraws, seeks a new date with Anissa Meksen

A cruel twist of fate has struck Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen after months of grueling training. Just yesterday, Buntan took to Instagram to reveal an injury that will sideline her from their highly anticipated fight. “Fight update:” Buntan wrote while adding, “I had an accident in sparring resulting in a broken toe- almost cracked all the way through. I unfortunately will have to postpone my fight on July 5th.” The setback is frustrating for Buntan, who expressed hope for a rescheduled bout once she’s fully healed.

However, with only two weeks left before the fight, finding a replacement for Anissa Meksen is nearly impossible. This means she’s also out of the event. Meksen hinted at this on her Instagram with a cryptic message, “Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be.” 

The news of Jackie Buntan’s injury and the fight cancellation wasn’t met with silence. Fellow combat sports athletes flooded her comments section with messages of support, offering words of encouragement and wishing her a speedy recovery.

Fans and athletes reacted to Buntan’s injury

Jackie Buntan’s injury sparked immediate reactions from fans, including former ONE Light Heavyweight MMA World Champion Aung La N Sang. He offered his support in the comments, writing, “Speedy Recovery @jackiebuntan !!! Broken toes are the worst. Hurts so bad but it doesn’t look like much.” Meanwhile, a fan echoed Meksen’s cryptic caption, commenting, “Everything happens for a reason. This reason will make sense in your favor!”

The well wishes continued wishing speedy recovery for Jackie Buntan. American Muay Thai athlete Caia Knowles also chimed in, empathizing with Buntan’s Frustration: “I’m so sorry Jackie I’m sure this is so frustrating. I hope it heals quickly, I know”. Martial arts YouTuber Kevin DungYu Lee joined the conversation, sharing his own experience, by commenting, “wishing you a speedy recovery.”

The outpouring of support for Jackie Buntan continued. ONE contender and WBC Muay Thai world flyweight champion Lara Fernandez joined the chorus with a heartfelt message: “🥲 wishing you a speedy recovery ❤️‍🩹🔥”

Right now, there’s no official word yet on a rescheduled date for Jackie Buntan and Anissa Meksen’s ONE Women’s Strawweight kickboxing World Title Match. We’ll keep you updated if any news emerges. Stay Tuned!