Smilla Sundell overcame one of her biggest challenges yet in her latest ONE Championship outing this past weekend, and she kept her perfect promotional run alive as a result.

“The Hurricane” met the surging Natalia Diachkova strawweight Muay Thai action in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 last Friday, May 3, inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and she stopped her in style.

Smilla Sundell turned the tide for her victory

Through the first two rounds of their encounter, Diachkova looked like she was on her way to another victory and the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship.

However, Sundell found an opening in the third round, and she hit a tired “Karelian Lynx” with a vicious body shot to fold her in half and prompt the referee to stop the contest.

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In an interview with ONE after the win, the Fairtex Training Center product admitted that Diachkova had been one of her most difficult foes to date.

“It was one of my biggest challenges. She got me good in the first round. So yeah, she’s definitely at the top,” Sundell said.

“My vision was very blurry in the first round. In the second round, I was a bit shaky, too as well. I don’t know where I was hitting, to be honest. And I don’t know what I was doing in the fight. I just knew I went to the floor once. And that got me very angry. And I just had to go, go, go.” 

Sundell’s roller-coaster weekend

It was an emotional weekend for the 19-year-old phenom, to say the least.

Having missed the strawweight limit, Sundell was stripped of the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title in the lead-up to Friday’s fight, leaving Diachkova as the only fighter in the ring who could win the gold when they collided.

She then had to endure some significant damage to find the win. But the Swedish star ultimately did so to end her roller-coaster few days on a high.

Following the match, Sundell declared her intention to reclaim the divisional strap, and she pushed for a new weight bracket to be created for women in ONE Championship.

“I really want my belt back. I will get it back, I think. But I also want another weight division,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter who I fight. I just love fighting. So, I’ll face anyone who wants to step into the ring with me.”