One Championship: Jackie Buntan Wants Fight in Philippines After ‘Really Cool Experience’ Filming Warrior Series

Jackie Buntan is hoping her next ONE Championship fight will take her back to the Philippines.

ONE will return to the Southeast Asian country with a pair of stacked events on December 3 and 4, the first of which will air on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service – part of the promotion’s aggressive push into the United States market.

The popular Filipino-American Muay Thai fighter, who has been out of action since a decision loss to Smilla Sundell in April, sees either of those events as a suitable setting for her next fight.

“I think it’s only right,” the 25-year-old told the Post. “Being Filipino-American, I think that would be so awesome to go back and compete there.

“I feel like the energy would just be insane.”

Buntan’s parents are from the Philippines, but they emigrated to the United States just before she was born. She had never seen the country herself until this year, when she visited to appear on ONE Warrior Series: Philippines – with her mother in tow.

“[My parents] left the Philippines when I was still in my mom’s stomach,” she said.

“I was there for the first time ever. It was really cool to experience that with my mom there.”

The latest iteration of ONE’s Warrior Series reality television programme is currently under way, with 16 Filipino MMA prospects vying for a lone US$100,000 contract with the promotion.

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Buntan appeared as a guest coach on episode four, running a whittled-down cast – several fighters have already been eliminated – through a series of useful Muay Thai techniques inside the famed Team Lakay facility in Baguio City.

She was impressed by the level of talent she saw on the mats – particularly by 19-year-old prospect McLeary Ornido, who looked good in a sparring session with JM Guntayon.

“These guys weren’t just random athletes from across the Philippines,” she said. “The team hand selected these athletes. They’re the best of the best. Current champions in whatever discipline they’re in. So all of them really were talented.

“I saw a couple of people, style-wise, that would hold up in ONE Championship.”

“McLeary is one that that really stood out, just because he’s very young and very talented. He looked good in all aspects. His ground game looked good. His striking was good.”

Buntan’s April loss to Sundell marked a failed bid for ONE’s vacant strawweight Muay Thai title. She is not picky about who she fights next, nor how long it takes her to work her way to another title shot.

“Anybody they want to give me,” she said when asked whom she would like to fight next – whether it is in the Philippines or somewhere else. “Anybody and everybody.

“I keep the same attitude and mentality: keep working hard, keep getting that experience and the rest will come.”