FILIPINAS now rule ONE Championship, and ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jackie Buntan can't help but feel proud to see a fellow Pinay thrive in a different sport.
This comes after Denice "The Menace" Zamboanga was named the undisputed ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion following Stamp Fairtex’s reinjury of her knee.
With two Pinays now ruling different sports in the promotion, Buntan believes it says a lot about the continuous growth of women in combat sports and the acceptance in traditionally conservative Filipino culture.
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"It's a deeply significant and proud moment to be one of the two Filipinas in ONE Championship to reach World Champion status," Buntan said.
"To have two Filipinas be at the top of their divisions at the same time just shows the growth of women in martial arts during this day and age."
While they haven't had many moments together, Buntan recalls sharing the same locker room with Zamboanga during ONE Fight Night 5. There, they both defeated their respective opponents in Buntan's Manila debut.
Buntan scored a unanimous decision win over Amber Kitchen while Zamboanga defeated Lin Heqin in the show's opener.
"When me and Denice both fought on the same card in Manila, I remember walking to the warm-up room post-fight and we were both icing our faces — we had a laugh about that," Buntan said.
Now they aren't just two women icing their faces after fights — they're two Filipinas at the top of their respective sports, flying the country's flag high.
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