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"My sharpest weapon is my boxing" - Smilla Sundell lays out her greatest strengths ahead of next title defense

Smilla Sundell is excited to show people the evolution of her game when she steps back inside the ring at ONE Fight Night 22.

The 19-year-old prodigy's first outing of 2024 comes on May 3 as she headlines the show live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. With her ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship on the line, Sundell will face surging Russian contender Natalia Diachkova.

Ahead of the fight, the divisional queen and reigning world champion told the South China Morning Post that she believes she is continuing to improve in every single area with each passing fight and training camp.

However, Smilla Sundell did specifically highlight the skill set of hers that she rates above the others when looking at where she is the most dangerous:

"[I've been working on] everything, kicks, punches. Yeah, everything. My sharpest weapon is my boxing."

Watch the full interview below:


Smilla Sundell is a very difficult opponent to prepare for

Natalia Diachkova has got a tough task ahead of her in preparing to take on Smilla Sundell for the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship.

As the champion herself said, she is well-rounded in all areas making it difficult to target one specific approach in trying to dethrone her. However, as Sundell stated, her boxing is really what separates her from some of the other top fighters in her weight class.

With her unique height and length for the strawweight division, the champion is a nightmare matchup for opponents to even get their hands on let alone defeat in a battle or ranged weapons.

This is exactly the kind of puzzle that Diachkova is going to try and solve in by far the biggest test of her run in ONE Championship to date.

It's a challenge that many, including the likes of Jackie Buntan and Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, have failed to produce an answer to.

We will find out in the main event whether Diachkova can prove herself to be the exception to the rule.

ONE Fight Night 22 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Prime Video subscription.

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