Jackie Buntan’s World Title aspirations will have to be pushed back a little longer.
The Fil-American striking star suffered an injury in her camp and has officially pulled out of her bout against Anissa “C18” Meksen at ONE Fight Night 23 on July 6 inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before the injury, Buntan was hoping to stretch her winning run to four, last beating Martine “The Italian Queen” Michieletto via unanimous decision in a three-round war at ONE Fight Night 20: Todd vs, Phetjeeja.
This is a crushing blow for the morale of the Fil-Am striker who was looking for redemption after falling short in her first quest for gold, losing to Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell for the Inaugural ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 156: Eersel vs Sadikovic.
Those plans will once again have to be shelved as she looks to stage a comeback by the end of the year.
Now, former World Champion Ok Rae Yoon and the unbeaten Alibeg Rasulov will get the spotlight as they move on to the main event of the evening when they compete for the Interim ONE Lightweight MMA World Title.
Ok is hungry to return to the top after losing the World Title back to Christian “The Warrior” Lee, and he proved that after dominating Lowen Tynanes at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III.
His return to the top would be no walk in the park though as he welcomes Rasulov and his 13-fight win streak to The Home of Martial Arts, with the Turkish grappler looking to turn heads and prove that he deserves this spot.