"Not gonna tell you my plan" - Natalia Diachkova says strategy for Smilla Sundell under wraps for now
Natalia Diachkova has been on an absolute tear in ONE Championship, which has led to the biggest opportunity of her career at ONE Fight Night 22 on May 3.
That evening, 'Karelian Lynx' is booked to take on Smilla Sundell in a ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship matchup inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The 29-year-old, alongside names like Seksan Or Kwanmuang and Johan Ghazali, made the most of her opportunity on the promotion's ONE Friday Fights series.
She scored back-to-back first-round knockouts against Dokmaipa Fairtex and Lena Nocker in April and June, respectively, before returning with a stellar nine-minute showing against Hannah Brady at ONE Friday Fights 32 in September.
Most recently, the Team Mehdi Zatout star claimed another first-round knockout of Chellina Chirino at ONE Friday Fights 55 to position herself as one of the favorites to face the 19-year-old divisional queen.
Speaking during an in-ring interview with Mitch Chilson during the live broadcast of ONE Fight Night 21 last week, she promised to bring the same fire in her first five-round war on the global stage.
Natalia Diachkova, however, refused to reveal her game plan. She said:
"Sorry guys, I'm not gonna tell you my plan. I'm gonna say, hard work. I gotta work, same as usual."
Natalia Diachkova's pressure could spell trouble for Smilla Sundell
The 29-year-old is never one to back down from a fight, and this all-action style could potentially give her an advantage against Sundell's more calculated approach.
As seen in her promotional debut, Natalia Diachkova forced Dokmaipa into reverse gear from the start before she finished her with three successive straight right-left hook combinations.
The Petrozavodsk native stuck to the same tactics in her sophomore outing against Nocker, eventually getting the job done with a basic one-two combination within 90 seconds.
It was a similar affair from the Team Mehdi Zatout star when she faced Brady and Chirino, and she will certainly look to prevent Sundell from stringing anything together when they go toe-to-toe at ONE Fight Night 22.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire card live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 3.