"I just went in there to do my job" – Smilla Sundell gets candid about losing her belt on the scales vs. Natalia Diachkova
Former ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell had a whirlwind weekend at ONE Fight Night 22. Before her bout with former IFMA and WMC Muay Thai world champion Natalia Diachkova, the 19-year-old prodigy missed weight by a big margin, resulting in her getting stripped of her world title.
Despite not being eligible to win the belt back, Smilla Sundell was allowed to fight as Diachkova made weight and was willing to fight. The bout saw Diachkova overwhelming the former world champion early with her powerful boxing.
It wasn't until the final seconds of the second round that 'The Hurricane' turned things around by landing a well-placed body shot, leading to a TKO win. On her disappointing weight miss and come-from-behind win, Sundell told the media in her post-event interview:
“I don't know if it impacted my performance. Maybe it did. But I just went in there to do my job. Yeah, I did.”
Watch the full interview here:
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong considering new weight class for Smilla Sundell in light of weight miss
As it turned out ONE Championship has been dancing around the idea of creating a new women's Muay Thai weight class for some time. After Sundell's weight miss and subsequent world title loss, this might become a necessity.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong addressed the weight class issue:
"Yes, I've already been considering it a long time ago."
Smilla Sundell herself has expressed in moving up in weight in previous interviews. Perhaps the fact that she's just a teenager means her body is still growing into her prime form, which means a higher weight class is truly necessary in the future.
The replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.