American striking star Jackie Buntan will be an interested spectator during ONE Friday Fights 18 this week, as a familiar foe of hers returns to action. ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla Sundell will venture into her first kickboxing fight in ONE Championship when she takes on Milana Bjelogrlic inside the iconic Lumipinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, May 26.

Fresh off her victory over Diandra Martin at ONE Fight Night 10 earlier this month, Buntan made it known that she is eyeing two-sport glory in her division.

Buntan was unfazed after Smilla Sundell intended to go for a two-sport glory

It now appears that her former rival is keen on pursuing that same goal, which doesn’t surprise her in the least. “It makes sense [that she’d go to kickboxing]. I’m sure she has the same goal as me and other girls in the division to go after both those belts, kickboxing, and Muay Thai. I assumed that she’d be defending her title first in Muay Thai, but I know she’s coming back from an injury, so who knows?” Buntan told ONE Championship.

The Boxing Works standout was riding a three-fight win streak inside the Circle when she met the Swedish striker in April last year to compete for the inaugural ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title. Unfortunately, she slipped to a unanimous decision loss after a five-round war, which crowned Sundell as the youngest-ever World Champion in the promotion. 

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This Friday would mark the teenage World Champion’s first taste of action since that monumental win, and Buntan believes the Fairtex Gym product has the tools to succeed in kickboxing as well.

Jackie Buntan wanted a Muay Thai rematch against Smilla Sundell

“It should be interesting to see her style translate into kickboxing, especially with the bigger gloves. She has power behind her, she’s super long. I feel like she could possibly do well just because she has that nasty habit of smothering you. But it depends on who she’s competing against,” she said. 

“I’ll definitely be watching.” While Sundell’s foray into kickboxing could lead to another matchup between them down the line, Buntan is more focused on challenging for her rival’s Muay Thai strap first.

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Two-sport domination is her goal, but a shot at redemption would be too tempting to turn down. “If I do get to compete against Smilla again, I would like to compete in Muay Thai and be able to go back in there with her and fix the mistakes that I had to fix. I’ve been fixing them, testing myself, and challenging myself. But it’s also whatever is right at the moment, but I think I would prefer Muay Thai,” she said.