Smilla Sundell is the youngest World Champion in ONE Championship history, and she’s soaking up all the knowledge from her fellow striking superstars.
The 19-year-old is set to defend the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship against Russia’s Natalia Diachkova in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 on Friday, May 3, inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Smilla Sundell talks about training with Tawanchai ahead of her fight against Natalia Diachkova
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Ahead of the brawl, Sundell has been looking to expand her knowledge of her craft, and she recently attended a seminar put on by ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in the gym he calls home, where she picked up more than just tips on her skill set.
“I did his [Tawanchai’s] seminar in Bangkok at PK Saenchai with my friend Matt. We went there and wanted to learn some new skills and see how he did seminars because I want to go to America after my fight to do seminars. I’ve done one now, and I like teaching, so it was fun,” she told ONE in a recent interview.
“I just wanted to see other people doing it too. He had some good tricks, so I learned some new stuff. He taught me some small tricks, like how to do a push kick differently, which was cool.”
INCOMING 🚨 Your first look at the full card for ONE Fight Night 22 on @primevideo featuring ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion and Swedish striking phenom Smilla Sundell defending her throne against Russian KO artist Natalia Diachkova 🤩🏆#ONEFightNight22 | Fri May 3 at… pic.twitter.com/1wG2EyPxTM
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 12, 2024
Tawanchai is currently busy preparing for his own World Title defense. The Thai sensation will be in action this coming June when he puts his belt on the line in a rematch with “Smokin’” Jo Nattawut at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga.
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With both stars readying themselves for their respective ONE Championship returns, it made sense for them to get together for a fun sparring session.
Sundell compliments the skills of ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion
Sundell’s encounter with Tawanchai may have only been brief, but she was amazed by what she got to experience first-hand opposite the featherweight Muay Thai king.
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“We did drills and a one-minute sparring with him. He’s very fast and strong. He didn’t go full power in the sparring, but wow,” she said.
“There’s no competition in it. He’s like a cat playing with a rat. It’s too easy for him sometimes. He doesn’t even try.”