Jackie Buntan will feature in the only Muay Thai bout at the ONE on TNT IV card this Wednesday.
After picking up a win in her promotional debut earlier this year against “Wondergirl” Fairtex, the 23-year old Buntan returns against Belarus’ Ekaterina Vandaryeva, a.k.a. “Barbie.”
“I’ve only watched her previous fight with Janet [Todd],” said Buntan at a ONE on TNT IV media day this week, asked about her opponent, who like Buntan has just a single fight under the ONE banner. “She will sometimes stay stagnant, and she likes to throw her left kick and her right hand a lot.”
“Just being able to kind of use the same weapons, use my footwork, use my speed, I think that will be the greater factor in this fight,” she added.
Taking part in a big event in U.S. prime time (ONE on TNT IV takes place in Singapore, but fighters will compete in the morning to allow for the time different) has Buntan excited. “I’m super stoked about it, being born and raised in the U.S., and having friends and family being able to see me on prime time TV, it’s a really cool thing to happen.”
As a Filipino-American, Buntan also has a whole other country supporting her. “It feels amazing,” she said of that support. Being born in the U.S., “the fact that I have a whole nation in the Philippines rocking behind me, it’s an incredible feeling. Definitely adds on to my confidence as a person, as a fighter.”
Watch the full ONE on TNT IV media day interview with Jackie Buntan above. The event takes place Wednesday, April 28, with the main card airing live on TNT starting at 10PM ET.
