Olivia ‘Diamond’ Bahsous might be the oldest of her four siblings. But when she made her debut with ONE Championship on June 19, the 16-year-old was the youngest fighter on the card. In fact, the Canadian was supposed to attend her prom, but chose to fight instead. So, after her fight against Thailand’s Phontip Khlongtoeiyouthcenter, Bahsous apologized to her date for ditching him.

“I’m only 16 years old,” Bahsous began. “It’s bittersweet because I was supposed to be at prom right now, this second. I’m sorry to my date, I stood you up, but I’m here.”

It’s a good thing she chose to fight because the Canadian phenom secured a first-round TKO win in one minute 29 seconds. And according to journalist Nick Atkin, she was awarded a 350,000 baht ($10,636) bonus. The 102-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout took place on The Inner Circle 19 card by One Championship at Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium. With the win, the 16-year-old is trying to put the entire division on notice. 

“And everybody who’s watching, all the young boys and young girls, I’m gonna say the same thing that Mr. Chatri told me four years ago. Dream big, stay humble, and work hard, and one day you’ll be here,” she added. “And I’m here to stay. I’m not here just to compete. I’m here to dominate. So everybody in this division, sleep with one eye open, because I’m coming for all of you.”

Although her debut was at a catchweight, records show she often competes at strawweight. If she continues on that path, the division should be paying close attention because, despite her young age, Olivia Bahsous is a three-time IFMA Junior World Championship gold medalist. She also boasts an impressive 15-1 record, per ONE Championship. 

Still, Bahsous has a long way to go because the promotion has seen the sort of young talent Bahsous is now making headlines for.

Olivia Bahsous can make history in ONE Championship

While Bahsous’ achievements thus far have been impressive, she has yet to win a Muay Thai world title in the promotion. And that’s exactly what Smilla ‘The Hurricane’ Sundell has done in ONE Championship. At just the age of 17, Sundell became the youngest fighter in ONE to win a world title in the promotion. 

She defeated Jackie Buntan in April 2022 to win the promotion’s inaugural Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship. Although Sundell has since been released from ONE Championship, she has continued her career at Tuff-N-Uff, winning two more bouts. 

If Bahsous can beat the promotion’s current strawweight Muay Thai champion, Stella Hemetsberger, before turning 17, the Canadian can make history inside the promotion. But until then, Olivia Bahsous appears to be the latest promising prospect to join the promotion’s growing roster.