Anissa Meksen open to Phetjeeja rematch after she clinches strawweight kickboxing gold at ONE 169
Multi-time kickboxing world champion Anissa Meksen is eager to settle a score once she's put Jackie Buntan in the rear-view mirror.
The French-Algerian superstar returns to the global stage at ONE 169 to compete alongside the Filipino-American stalwart for the inaugural ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world title.
Though her focus is on this fight inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, 'C18' is eager to revisit her defeat to reigning ONE atomweight kickboxing queen 'The Queen' Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom.
On a potential rematch, she told Nick Atkin:
"We will see what happens after Saturday. After that, we will make a big decision."
Watch the full interview here:
Anissa Meksen collided with the Thai superstar for the interim crown at ONE Friday Fights 46 in late December last year.
Despite starting strong, the kickboxing veteran failed to pile the pressure on Phetjeeja, who continued to unload with huge strikes as the match progressed to secure the unanimous decision nod.
Just three months later, the Team Mehdi Zatout representative bested Janet Todd in a five-round scrap to unify the crown.
Anissa Meksen admits she was struggling with her mental health during fight camp for Phetjeeja
Anissa Meksen is never one to make excuses. Throughout her glorious run in kickboxing, the French-Algerian striker rose to the very top of the pound-for-pound chart, and she even has multiple world titles across different promotions to show for it.
Unfortunately, like most people, 'C18' was forced to deal with other problems that threw cold water on her preparation for the Phetjeeja fight.
Reflecting on the defeat during an exchange with the South China Morning Post, the 36-year-old offered:
"To be honest, I was in trouble during my training camp, and my mental health wasn't good for that fight. I don't watch the fight because I know it's not me, you know? And that's why sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose."
Find out if she can return to winning ways and claim the only gold missing from her collection at ONE 169, available to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.