Filipina-American kickboxing superstar Jackie Buntan’s hunt for that ONE Championship gold is back on.
The California native will finally tango with Anissa “C18” Meksen for the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship at ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug inside Lumpinee Stadium on November 9.
The Boxing Works representative will get another shot at gold after losing her initial attempt at the Muay Thai belt when she fell to Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell.
Since losing to the Swedish teen phenom, Buntan racked up four impressive victories – including an all-out war against the tough Martine Michieletto the last time out.
That stretch of victories pushed Buntan to kickboxing contendership, originally at ONE Fight Night 23 last July, but she had to pull out due to injuries she suffered during training camp.
Should Buntan win the belt, she’ll be the first fighter with Filipino descent to win either a kickboxing or Muay Thai crown in The Home of Martial Arts.
But it will be easier said than done against Meksen, a staple in the women’s pound for pound list in the world of kickboxing.
The French-Algerian striker has done it all in the striking arts. Prior to signing with ONE, she was a former WMPF Muay Thai World Champion, WAKO Pro Flyweight World Champion, and a former Glory Women’s Super Bantamweight World Champion and an IKSA K-1 Bantamweight queen.
The only thing missing from Meksen’s glistening trophy cabinet is ONE's prestigious 26 pounds of gold, and it’s fair to expect that she’ll be coming into this fight all fired up with history at hand.
Buntan will be joining Filipino Danny “The King” Kingad who takes on the top-ranked Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes in a flyweight MMA rematch.
READ: Danny Kingad eyes elusive KO finish against Adriano Moraes
The show will be headlined in a clash of titans as three-division MMA king Anatoly Malykhin defends his ONE Heavyweight MMA World Title against “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane.
Also in action is ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon as he defends his gold against Jacob Smith, while the long-awaited return of two-division ONE MMA World Champion Christian Lee also takes place that night when he puts his lightweight crown on the line against undefeated Turkish juggernaut Alibeg Rasulov.
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