Filipina-American striking sensation Jackie Buntan is backing her teammate, ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet “JT” Todd, when the latter aims for her second belt at ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash on July 22.
In the co-main event of the evening, Todd takes on Lara Fernandez for the ONE Interim Atomweight Muay Thai World Title, with the American looking to become a two-sport World Champion in the process.
Buntan and Todd have been training partners at Boxing Works in California under coach Bryan Popejoy for some time now, and she is convinced her sparring mate will get the W.
“I think if Janet doesn’t stop her, Janet’s going to win in dominant fashion, all rounds really. Or rounds. I definitely see Janet being victorious in this one,” Buntan said.
For the 25-year-old, what sets Todd apart from the rest is her never-waning hunger, which has made her one of the most dangerous women in ONE.
“Win or lose, even if she’s not competing, she’s so driven and she’s always finding a way to improve,” she said.
“She’s still improving so much. That’s not because our coach is making her. She genuinely wants to be better than she was the previous day. I think that’s what sets her apart. I’ve never met anyone else with her work ethic.
“I think she can go down as one of the greats as an athlete due to her work ethic.”
Aside from waiting for ONE 159 to roll out, Buntan has also been busy doing projects with The Home of Martial Arts – one of which finally allowed her to connect with her roots in the Philippines.
While both of her parents are natural born Filipinos, Buntan never had the chance to visit the Philippines until recently, as she was born in the U.S. after her family migrated there.
She had been eyeing a trip to the Philippines for the longest time, and thanks to ONE she finally got it.
“It was a quick trip. It was initially brought up to me by the ONE team to do a little project with them. I figured if I had the time, why not see family I haven’t met before,” she said.
“I wanted to be able to meet my dad’s family and my mom’s family – both sides. And I was able to see them even though it was a super short amount of time.
“In general, everything was great. All the people were great, treated so respectfully and humbly, and was just so welcoming. I had a really fun time out there.”
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