Filipino-American star Jackie Buntan is confident heading into her ONE strawweight kickboxing world title match with Anissa Meksen on Nov. 8 at ONE 169 because a former world champion helped her during training camp. Buntan and Meksen will battle to become the inaugural queen of the weight class inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Ahead of her showdown with Meksen, Buntan revealed that ex-ONE atomweight kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion Janet Todd was one of the main personalities who sharpened her skills and technique against ‘C18’.
The 27-year-old striking sensation shared during a recent interview with Bangkok Post’s Nick Atkin: “Yeah, she’s here in spirit. She’s my main training partner, especially for this camp. She was a kickboxing champ in the atomweight division, so she was the one helping me throughout this whole camp.”
Buntan and Todd have been together for years now, and they elevated each other’s skills in training, especially before ‘JT’ announced her retirement from the sport. Luckily for Buntan, she is still under Todd’s tutelage. “Maybe she is distracted. Jackie Buntan asserts that Anissa Meksen is ignoring her in their upcoming battle at ONE 169.
In another recent interview with the world’s largest martial arts organization before the fight, the Boxing Works representative said that the Algerian-French star might be underestimating her.
However, she refuses to let it bother her and is entirely focused on the task at hand, stating: “Maybe she is distracted. I’m not distracted. I believe that she is evidently disregarding this conflict; she is disregarding me as an adversary, and that is entirely acceptable. I’ll let her think that. I’m coming in extremely ready for this; I’m hungry for this, so yeah.”
North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription can watch all the action at ONE 169 live and for free. Jackie Buntan put herself through a rigorous training regimen to prepare for the world title fight against Anissa Meksen.
Jackie Buntan is excited to take on one of the biggest challenges of her career when she returns to action at ONE 169. The Muay Thai specialist has already faced off with some top opponents and proved herself under the ONE Championship banner.
However, on Nov. 8 at Lumpinee Stadium, she will be switching to kickboxing to face off with Anissa Meksen for the inaugural strawweight kickboxing world championship. Buntan has been meticulously preparing for this matchup in her training camp. By making the necessary preparations, she can easily adjust to a new ruleset and avoid feeling overwhelmed by an experienced and elite opponent.
In a recent interview with Violent Money TV, she spoke about how she has been getting herself ready for a big challenge: Will it be challenging? I won’t know for sure until I’ve finished the fight. However, the goal is to experience every aspect of my training camp. This way, once I’m in there, I’ll feel like I’ve seen everything. That’s the objective, and I consistently strive to achieve it at every combat camp.
“That fight proved I had heart.” Jackie Buntan sees positives in Smilla Sundell’s defeat ahead of her second shot at gold. Jackie Buntan, a Muay Thai savant, says she learned a lot from her last world title fight with Swedish sensation ‘The Hurricane,’ Smilla Sundell.
The two superstars collided in the ONE 156 co-main event in Singapore for the inaugural ONE strawweight Muay Thai gold in April 2022. As anticipated, Buntan and Sundell engaged in a fierce five-round battle, exerting their utmost effort to secure their place in history.
Unfortunately for her, Buntan came up short, but she looks back on that fight with pride for persevering all the way to that final bell. Jackie Buntan shared some key insights from her loss at Sundell with Violent Money TV. “I truly connected with my identity as a fighter and an athlete.” I was confident in my ability to challenge myself and maintain it. I knew I had heart, but that fight truly showed me that I could do anything.
“I had to dig deep and push through in that fight, and that’s exactly what I did.” I lost, obviously, but I feel like I didn’t slow down. I kept fighting up until the fifth round. That fight demonstrated my heart, grit, and determination to persevere even in challenging situations. I have the ability to keep swimming and keep going.”
On Friday, Nov. 8, Jackie Buntan will compete against Anissa Meksen for the inaugural ONE women’s strawweight kickboxing world championship. ONE 169: Malykhin vs. ‘Reug Reug’, which airs live in Canada and the United States via Prime Video, will feature their battle.
Jackie Buntan narrowly qualifies for her fight for the ONE 169 world title against Anissa Meksen. Jackie Buntan is ecstatic after meeting the weight and hydration requirements for her world title fight at ONE 169.
Upon narrowly reaching the 125-pound mark on the scales, the 27-year-old star exhaled deeply in relief. Her rival, Anissa Meksen, also made weight at 124.5 pounds to solidify their anticipated brawl inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Just hours ago, Buntan released footage of her weigh-ins, with a caption from her nutritionist. “Championship weight is made for @jackiebuntan. Now time to rehydrate and refuel. And the new!!”