"Sloppy" Smilla Sundell says it's always a matter of time before she goes into beast mode: "After they get me, I get them"
Smilla Sundell had to pull through shaky ground to fight her way to another triumphant outing in ONE Championship this past weekend.
Though many expected her to breeze through Russian striker Natalia Diachkova, the Fairtex Training Center superstar was surprisingly on the back foot throughout the catchweight tie inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Team Mehdi Zatout upstart came swinging in with heavy leather that prevented Sundell from marauding forward with her usual haymakers.
It, however, wasn't anything new for the former ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion.
Like her win against Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, the 19-year-old started slow, assessed the situation, and slowly established cracks through 'Karelian Lynx's' defense on her way to a fifth consecutive win in the promotion.
Speaking on her victory during a post-ONE Fight Night 22 interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Smilla Sundell said:
"I was running in too quickly sometimes. And I got sloppy. Same, I got caught when I fought Allycia, too. But yeah, after they get me, I get them too."
Watch the full interview here:
Given her reputation as one of the finest talents on the ONE roster, it is sometimes easy to forget that Sundell is still only in her teens.
With more game time, the Stockholm native can only get better. When she does, expect her to leave no room for error and read everything her opponent throws with textbook precision.
North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can relive the entire ONE Fight Night 22 card via replay for free.
Smilla Sundell's epic finish wraps ONE Fight Night 22 in style
Apart from Smilla Sundell's second-round TKO finish, the watching world was treated to an additional four stoppage wins inside the 'Mecca of Muay Thai' on May 3.
In the co-main event, Akbar Abdullaev's hellish fists left Halil Amir down and out inside the second round of their featured featherweight MMA duel.
Meanwhile, Dmitry Menshikov might have earned himself a rematch against Regian Eersel after folding Sinsamut Klinmee near the ropes at the midway point of the third stanza.
Bianca Basilio took home the night's only submission victory with a rear-naked choke finish of Nanami Ichikawa.
Lastly, Sean Climaco opened the show with an opening round finish off a left to the solar plexus against Josue Cruz.