Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell overcame her biggest test yet in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 in Bangkok, Thailand when she stopped Natalia Diachkova to continue her stunning rise.
The 19-year-old survived an early onslaught from the Russian knockout artist at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium but turned the tide and earned an emphatic second-round TKO victory.
Diachkova landed several right-handed punches in the first frame, reddening the face of the Swedish phenom who was struggling to read her opponent’s footwork.
Sundell settled down in the second round and began to find her rhythm as she focused her attack on her rival’s body. Her persistence paid off late in the stanza when she landed a devastating left hook to the body that folded Diachkova.
The teenager quickly took advantage of the moment by throwing a series of punches and knee strikes, prompting the referee to stop the fight just a second before the end of the frame.
Although Sundell earned her 36th professional victory, she did not walk away with the ONE Muay Thai women’s strawweight world title. The belt remains vacant after the Swede was stripped of the gold just hours before the match due to missing weight.
“The Hurricane” lamented the mishap after the fight and suggested that her days at strawweight may be numbered due to a recent growth spurt.
In the co-main event, undefeated star Akbar Abdullaev emerged victorious, handing Halil Amir his first professional loss.
Akbar Abdullaev sends Halil Amir onto the screen
After a thrilling opening verse between the MMA featherweight contenders that saw a series of exchanges largely dominated by Abdullaev, the Kyrgyz athlete exploded, leaving Amir unconscious on the mat in round two.
As the pair broke away from another grapple, Abdullaev uncorked a thunderous left hook that catapulted the towering Turk to the ground.
No further shots were needed as the Kyrgyzstan dynamo improved their professional record to 11-0 and maintained their 100 percent completion rate.
The 26-year-old also received the night’s only performance bonus of $50,000 for the devastating knockout before calling for a showdown with ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai in his post-fight interview.
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