Jackie Buntan enters her first ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship defense with a clear strategy to avenge her previous loss to Stella Hemetsberger.
The pair will meet in the main event of ONE Fight Night 40 on February 14 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Boxing Works star will defend her kickboxing title against the 27-year-old Austrian, who holds the ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship and seeks to become her country's first two-sport ONE World Champion.
Their September 2025 meeting for the vacant Muay Thai title saw Hemetsberger claim a decision victory after dropping Buntan twice in the opening round.
Now defending kickboxing gold instead of challenging for Muay Thai supremacy, Buntan recognizes the significance of a successful first defense.
"Coming into the fight as the reigning Kickboxing World Champion, it's one thing to win a World Championship, but it means a lot more to be able to defend it and stay on top," the champion stated.
That loss to Hemetsberger marked Buntan's most recent appearance, making this Valentine's Day rematch both a championship defense and personal redemption opportunity. However, the Filipina-American views that defeat as proof of her championship heart.
"That specific loss, especially how it happened – getting knocked down twice in the first round but staying in it and picking it up in rounds two through five – I think that's the definition of me as a fighter, as an athlete. There's no quit in me," Buntan reflected.
The resilience displayed after absorbing two first-round knockdowns showed the fighting spirit that has carried Buntan through her career. Now, she plans to use knowledge gained from that Muay Thai defeat to control their kickboxing rematch immediately.
Buntan outlined an aggressive approach designed to impose her will from the opening bell while mentally dismantling her opponent.
"I do see myself breaking her down from round one, having her question her ability, her game plan, her strategy, and just controlling it from there. I know how to beat her. Winning this fight means everything for my legacy," the champion declared.
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