Jackie Buntan To Face Anissa Meksen For Inaugural Kickboxing Belt At ONE Fight Night 23

Jackie Buntan is set for a golden opportunity in her next outing against a legend in the striking arts. It was recently confirmed that the Filipina-American will battle for the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship against multiple-time World Champion Anissa “C18” Meksen at ONE Fight Night 23. The event will go down on Friday, July 5, on U.S. primetime.

The California native, who is coming off of a chequered, has not had an easy path to contending for the Singapore-based promotion’s first women’s 115-pound crown.

Jackie Buntan’s path to getting a title shot

Jackie Buntan was challenged for the inaugural Muay Thai belt of the division at ONE 156 in April 2022 but failed to overcome the teenage Swedish phenom, Smilla Sundell. She bounced back well with a convincing win against Amber Kitchen at ONE on Prime Video 5 in the same year.

The 26-year-old later displayed her devastating power by claiming her first TKO win in the organization at ONE Fight Night 10 in Colorado against Australia’s Diandra Martin last May.

In her last appearance at ONE Fight Night 20 last month, she went up against Italian veteran Martine Michieletto in strawweight Muay Thai action and claimed a convincing unanimous decision victory. Following her win, she expressed a desire to be more active in competition this year and hoped to get a shot at a kickboxing belt.

A long-time wish of fighting for the women’s strawweight title comes true against Buntan!

The Boxing Works product got her wish, but she will be up against one of the best to have ever laced it up in the sport. Meksen needs no introduction for fight fans all over the world. The seven-time kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion is considered the top pound-for-pound female striker on the planet and truly needs no real introduction.

Since her promotional debut at ONE: Empower in September 2021, “C18” has been nothing short of spectacular in her performances, proving why she is considered one of the best in her generation.

She rightfully earned a shot at the ONE Interim Atomwweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE Friday Fights 46 last December. Unfortunately, she would fall short of the surging Thai star “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom after a tough five rounds of war. Now, she will get an opportunity to add another prestigious belt to her massive collection that includes gold from ISKA, WBC, Glory, and WAKO.

What are your predictions for the bout?