ONE Fight Night 22: Smilla Sundell overcomes tough week to knock Natalia Diachkova through ropes after difficult opening round
- Swedish fighter missed weight ahead of the bout, tipping the scales at 1.5lbs (0.68kg) over
- Non-title fight meant she missed out on prize money of US$50,000 and gave her opponent 30 per cent of purse
Smilla Sundell capped off a difficult week with a come-from-behind victory over Natalia Diachkova at ONE Fight Night 22.
Having missed weight ahead of the bout, tipping the scales at 1.5lbs (0.68kg) over, she was stripped of her strawweight Muay Thai title and then endured a torrid opening round at Luminee Stadium.
Diachkova relied almost exclusively on her boxing in the opening round as she started landing hard punches right from the opening bell with Sundell struggling to find her range but the Russian displayed another side to her game in the second.
Blood was smeared over Sundell’s face and the damage to her left eye was visible and with the fight slipping away from her, she decided to fight fire with fire and trade punches with her opponent.
Sundell landed a left hook to the body and Diachkova was doubled up in agony as her opponent capitalised ruthlessly, sending her through the ropes with knees to the body forcing the referee to step in and stop the contest at 2:59 mark to cap a remarkable turnaround.
As the title was not on the line, Sundell missed out on a US$50,000 bonus and had to give 30 per cent of her fight purse to Diachkova.
