Swedish teen sensation Smilla Sundell competes live on Sky Sports on Saturday in ONE Fight Night 22 (1am, Sky Sports Arena); unbeaten featherweights Akbar Abdullaev and Halil Amir also meet in Bangkok, while kickboxer Jonathan Haggerty could see his next title challenger emerge
Wednesday 1 May 2024 11:10, UK
ONE Fight Night 22 is live on Sky Sports Arena and Main Event from 1am on Saturday morning, with fans treated an exciting night of martial arts action including Smilla Sundell vs Natalia Diachkova.
With a world title main event in Bangkok and several contests that will shake the foundations of their respective divisions, there's plenty of talking points on the card…
ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell made an instant impact in the world's largest martial arts organisation, winning the division's inaugural crown when she was just 17-years-old.
While her friends and classmates were looking ahead to college, Sundell was busy dispatching opponents like Diandra Martin, Jackie Buntan, and the atomweight division's Muay Thai queen, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues - and she's showing no signs of slowing down before her 20th birthday.
It's been two years since she won the crown, and now, her striking talent is among, if not, the best on the planet. To achieve so much at the age of 19 is nothing to be sniffed at.
Each foe has offered Sundell a stern test, but those of her past don't compare to the toughest assignment she faces in Russia's Natalia Diachkova this weekend.
Diachkova is as unforgiving as they come. Since arriving in ONE Championship at the beginning of 2023, the 29-year-old star has earned four victories - three via first-round knockout - to earn a world-title opportunity.
Swedish teen Sundell has continued to defy the odds in each outing, and she will attempt to reach new heights against the formidable Diachkova.
The co-main event pits two unbeaten 10-0 talents together, as Akbar Abdullaev meets Halil Amir in a featherweight MMA showdown that has huge implications for the division's top-five rankings.
Abdullaev has been flawless throughout his young MMA career, finishing all of his opponents within the distance. And he's brought that same fire into ONE Championship with back-to-back knockout victories - first, he floored Oh Ho Taek in 44 seconds, and then he needed only 41 seconds to hand Aaron Canarte the first loss of his professional career.
However, he will be pushed to the limit when he meets Amir, who moves down to the featherweight division after a successful tenure in the lightweight MMA realm.
The Turk gathered three wins on the trot, with two of those also coming via knockout. The featherweight move is a tactile one from Amir, and he believes whoever emerges victorious from the co-main event will edge even closer to their world title dreams.
Before that, a huge bantamweight kickboxing affair will go down, as former champ Hiroki Akimoto and hot new signing Wei Rui attempt to put themselves in line for the next crack at two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty's ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title.
Akimoto has been absent from action since losing the gold in October 2022. With changes made and adjustments finalised, the Japanese striker is ready to capture the attention of Haggerty. But he'll have his work cut out for him in doing so.
A milestone signee, Wei has long been deemed a top-10 pound-for-pound striker.
The former K-1 world champion and K-1 grand prix champion debuts in ONE with a mission statement - and that's to take over the world's largest martial arts organization. Defeating a former champ in Akimoto will solidify his status as a true contender for Haggerty.
Watch One Championship 22 live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena from 1am on Saturday or stream with NOW.
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