Jackie Buntan can now call herself the strawweight queen. The Boxing Works athlete edged out Anissa Meksen at ONE 169 to claim the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship. But it was not an easy night at the office.
Meksen started strong behind her legendary skills, but Buntan was just working herself into the match. As the match drew on, she picked up steam and started to come alive. If anything, as Buntan said after the event at the ONE Championship press conference, she was surprised Meksen wasn’t more aggressive.
“I felt confident right from the get, right from the start, when I stepped in there, I think after the first round, she was kind of playing it more defensive. I was expecting her to come and surge at me, pressure me, and by the start of the third round, I felt pretty confident being able to do it, everything we’ve been working on. I felt like I was able to see everything. Nothing really came as a surprise either. So yeah, I was confident the whole time,” Buntan said.
It was the culmination of a lot of work from the Boxing Works team. The tight-knit group embraced in the ring at the conclusion of the bout. The Californian was sure to credit her head coach, Bryan Popejoy, and talked about the special moment of having him in her corner for her first World Championship.
“I mean, I can’t even put it into words. You know, I’ve been with Brian since I was a kid, since I started this whole journey, and being able to win this with him by my side, it feels like a dream. I can’t put anything else into words about it,” Buntan admitted.
Buntan was clear that this was the biggest moment of her career to date, but she was just getting started. While she will take some time to soak the rays of sunshine in after claiming the title, she will be keeping a close eye on the kickboxing and Muay Thai divisions. In 2025, she will be ready to take on whoever stands across from her on the global stage.
“I think the strawweight division in both Muay Thai and kickboxing is still building. I feel like there needs to be clear rankings. But yeah, next year the goal is to keep defending the kickboxing belt and go for the Muay Thai belt and hold both belts at the same time,” Buntan remarked.
