Smilla_Sundell

Smilla Sundell

Smilla Sundell

Swedish Muay Thai kickboxer (born 2004)

Smilla Sundell (born 12 November 2004) is a Swedish Muay Thai kickboxer.[3][4] She is currently signed to ONE Championship, where she was the former ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion.

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

On April 22, 2022, Sundell became the youngest person to ever win a world title in Muay Thai by defeating Jackie Buntan to win the inaugural ONE Women's Strawweight Championship at 17 years and 5 months.[5][6][7] As of April 2024, she is ranked as the number two female featherweight (57.153 kg) Muay Thai contender in the world by the WBC Muaythai.[8]

Early life

Born in Sundbyberg, Sweden, Sundell started practicing karate at five years old for self-defense.[1][9] She first tried her hand at Muay Thai at 10 or 11, while on vacation in Thailand.[9] Sundell and her family moved to Ko Samui when she was 12 years old due to her parents' careers.[10] She and her younger sister started practicing Muay Thai at a gym called Yodyut Muay Thai due to a lack of any other sports.[11] When Sundell was 15, her family moved back to Sweden.[10] But she stayed in Thailand to pursue Muay Thai.[11] Running out of opponents in Ko Samui and inspired by watching Stamp Fairtex, in October 2019 she moved to Pattaya and joined the Fairtex Gym, where she currently lives by herself.[9][11]

Career

Early career

In early 2021, Sundell was ranked the number one female featherweight (57.153 kg) Muay Thai practitioner in the world by the WBC Muaythai at 16 years of age.[9][12] She has notable victories over decorated champion Sawsing Sor Sopit, Ponpan Por.Muengpetch, and male fighter Bongsak Sitpholek.[1][5][9] After amassing a record of 31 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, Sundell signed with ONE Championship in 2021.[1][13]

ONE Championship

In her ONE Championship debut at ONE: Full Circle on 25 February 2022, Sundell faced Australia's Diandra Martin. She won the fight by TKO in round 3.[14][15] This was her first fight in four-ounce MMA gloves, which are smaller than the usual gloves used in Muay Thai.[10]

ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion

Sundell faced Jackie Buntan for the inaugural ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship at ONE 156 on 22 April 2022.[16][17][18] Sundell won by unanimous decision, making her the youngest person to ever win a world title.[19][20][21] The fight also earned her a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.[5]

Sundell made her kickboxing debut against Milana Bjelogrlić at ONE Friday Fights 18 on May 26, 2023.[22] She won the fight by unanimous decision.[23]

Sundell made her first Women's Muay Thai Strawweight World title defense against ONE Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Rodrigues at ONE Fight Night 14 on September 29, 2023.[24] She retained the championship by a third-round technical knockout.[25] She also earned her second $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.[26]

In the second title defense, Sundell faced Natalia Diachkova on May 4, 2024, at ONE Fight Night 22.[27] At the weigh-ins, Sundell came in at 126.5 lb (after coming in at 127.7 lb in for an unofficial check two and a half hours into the weigh-ins), 1.5 pounds over the strawweight limit for a title fight. As a result, Sundell was stripped of the title and only Diachkova was eligible to win it.[28] She won the fight via technical knockout in the second round.[29]

Championships and awards

Fight record

More information Date, Result ...

[31]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Smilla Sundell 16 år fick proffskontrakt med världsorganisationen ONE FC". Fighter Magazine (in Swedish). 16 January 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Smilla "The Hurricane" Sundell". ONE Championship. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Who is Smilla Sundell's next contender?". Cup Sport. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  4. [4]
    "MMA: Jackie Buntan bares plan to win ONE strawweight crown". ABS-CBN. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. [5]
    "This 17-year-old girl is a phenomenon. Meet the ONE FC Muay Thai champion Smilla Sundell". www.telecomasia.net. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  6. [6]
    ONE, Jay Furness. "Jackie Buntan plans to expose 'careless' Smilla Sundell in ONE world title fight". MMA Underground. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  7. [7]
    "'I Don't Think Anything In Life Compares To This' – Smilla Sundell Reflects On Historic World Title Win". MSN. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  8. [8]
    "WORLD RANKINGS: April 2024". WBC Muaythai. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  9. [9]
    "'I Don't Like To Fail' – How World Title Challenger Smilla Sundell Rocketed To Muay Thai Fame At 17". ONE Championship. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  10. [10]
    "ONE 156's Smilla Sundell: A Teenager in a Title Fight". Combat Press. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  11. [11]
    "Exclusive Interview: The Youngest World Champion". Fight Sports. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Smilla Sundell Nr#1 på WBC:s Muay Thai-ranking". Fighter Magazine (in Swedish). 6 February 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  13. [13]
    "Teen Star Sundell, Former Champ Kadestam Score Knockouts On ONE: FULL CIRCLE Lead Card". ONE Championship. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  14. [14]
    Championship, O. N. E. "Smilla Sundell, Juara Dunia Termuda ONE Championship". CNN (in Indonesian). Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  15. [15]
    Richards, Vince. ""They were supportive, and they think I could do it if I want to" - Smilla Sundell looks to her family for inspiration in her fight career". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  16. [16]
    "ONE 156: Sundell, Buntan agree 'we'll meet again' after brutal battle". South China Morning Post. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  17. [17]
    ""I Can Beat Her" – 17-Year-Old Smilla Sundell Extremely Confident She Can Surprise Jackie Buntan to Win ONE World Championship". EssentiallySports. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  18. [18]
    "Tag: smilla sundell muay thai". Ultimate Athlete News. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  19. [19]
    Tafari, Ashah (22 April 2022). "Smilla Sundell wins ONE world title, makes history as the youngest-ever champion". Frontkick.online. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  20. [20]
    Wheaton, Timothy. ""It's my biggest dream coming true" - Smilla Sundell at age 17 makes ONE history as youngest champion". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  21. [21]
    "Teenage champion Smilla Sundell is shopping for cereal!". Asian MMA. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  22. [22]
    Pico, Borna (18 May 2023). "Smilla Sundell To Make Kickboxing Debut Against Milana Bjelogrlić on May 26, Mohammed Boutasaa Also Confirmed Against Mohammad Siasarani". beyondkick.com. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  23. [23]
    Clausson, Alexander (26 May 2023). "Smilla Sundell fortsätter dominera i ONE". kimura.se. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  24. [24]
    Atkin, Nicolas (19 August 2023). "ONE Championship: Chatri expects 'an absolute banger' as Allycia Rodrigues faces Smilla Sundell in Singapore". scmp.com. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  25. [25]
    Pekios, Craig (30 September 2023). "Smilla Sundell Stops Allycia Hellen Rodrigues Via TKO In Clash Of Champions - ONE Fight Night 14 Highlights". lowkickmma.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  26. [26]
    Razon, Ted. "ONE Fight Night 14: Who got the $50,000 bonus?". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  27. [27]
    "ONE Championship: Smilla Sundell to make second defence of her strawweight Muay Thai title against Natalia Diachkova". South China Morning Post. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  28. [28]
    "ONE Championship: Smilla Sundell misses weight, loses strawweight Muay Thai title on the scale". www.sportskeeda.com. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  29. [29]
    Joseph, Mike (4 May 2024). "ONE Fight Night 22 Results: Smilla Sundell Folds Natalia Diachkova, Abdullaev Shocks Amir". myKhel.com. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  30. [30]
    Karl Batungbacal (15 December 2022). "Year-End Sports Recap: Best Moments, Fighters From ONE Championship's Incredible 2022". International Business Times.
  31. [31]
    "Smilla Sundell ("The Storm") | Fighter Page". Tapology. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Smilla_Sundell, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.