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WATCH: Teenage phenom Smilla Sundell's old-fashioned beatdown of Filipino-American Jackie Buntan to become world champion.

Despite still being so young in her career, ONE Championship fans have had the pleasure of following the inspirational journey of Smilla Sundell.

Her story isn't exactly your usual prospect to contender to champion fairytale story as the ascent she went through is difficult to match.

Sundell made her ONE debut back in February 2022 when a third-round finish over Diandra Martin announced the 17-year-old phenom as a legitimate contender in the strawweight division.

She followed that up with a relatively quick turnaround for ONE 156 in April of the same year, where the vacant title was on the line between her and another standout in the weight class, Filipino-American contender Jackie Buntan.

The two women went to war for five rounds, but come the final bell, there was only one winner and that was the Swede who learned her craft in Thailand.

With this win, Sundell made history as the youngest fighter to have won a world championship in the promotion.

Before her return and upcoming world title defense at ONE Fight Night 22, rewatch Sundell's crowning moment below:


Smilla Sundell has only continued to build from here

With two more years of experience under her belt, the version we now see of Smilla Sundell in 2024 is just as impressive as when she put herself on the map two years ago.

The strawweight striking queen is always getting better, and while she would have loved to get more barnburners under her belt, her time spent at the world-renowned Fairtex Training Center to improve her craft has been invaluable for her development.

Smilla Sundell is now set to return on May 3, where she will defend her crown against Russian contender, Natalia Diachkova, who has stayed perfect under the ONE spotlight.

The Russian fighter has racked up four consecutive wins on the Friday Fights series and with three of them coming by way of finish, she has proven that she isn't here to make up the numbers.

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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