One Fight Night 22: Teenage sensation Smilla Sundell stops Natalia Diachkov after missing weight
Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell overcame her biggest test to date in the ONE Fight Night 22 main event in Bangkok, Thailand as she stopped Natalia Diachkova to continue her staggering rise.
The 19-year-old survived an early onslaught from the Russian knockout artist at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, but turned the tide to produce an emphatic second-round TKO victory.
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Diachkova landed several clubbing right hands in the opening frame that reddened the face of the Swedish phenom, who struggled to figure out the footwork of her opponent.
Sundell settled down in the second round and began to find her rhythm as she focused her attack to her rival’s body. Her persistence paid off late in the stanza when she landed a crushing left hook to the body that folded Diachkova.
The teenager quickly seized the moment by unleashing a series of punches and knees, prompting the referee to wave off the fight with just one second left in the frame.
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Though Sundell earned her 36th professional win, she did not leave with the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title. The belt will remain vacant after the Swede was stripped of the gold due to missing weight just hours before the matchup.
“The Hurricane” lamented the mishap post-fight, flagging that her days at strawweight may be numbered due to a recent growth spurt.
