Smilla Sundell is not resting on her laurels just because she is the ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai champion.
“The Hurricane” is learning from the best of the best ahead of her next title defense against Natalia Daichkovaat ONE Fight Night 22 on Friday, May 3.
Recently, she took part in a seminar led by ONE featherweight Muay Thai titleholder Tawanchai PK Saenchai, which was held at the gym he calls home. There, Sundell got a first-hand look at what makes him such a special talent.
“I did his seminar in Bangkok at PK Saenchai with my friend Matt. We went there and wanted to learn some new skills and see how he did seminars because I want to go to America after my fight to do seminars. I’ve done one now, and I like teaching, so it was fun,” Sundell told ONE.
“I just wanted to see other people doing it too. He had some good tricks, so I learned some new stuff. He taught me some small tricks, like how to do a push kick differently, which was cool.”
The 19-year-old Swede even got to exchange a little leather with Tawanchai, and while they didn’t get to fully bore, she still took everything she could from the sparring session.
“We did drills and a one-minute sparring with him. He’s very fast and strong. He didn’t go full power in the sparring, but wow,” Sundell recalled.
“There’s no competition in it. He’s like a cat playing with a rat. It’s too easy for him sometimes – he doesn’t even try.”
Traveling to PK Saenchai Gym and expanding her horizons is an admirable quality for “The Hurricane,” as she doesn’t need to go much further than her own facility.
At the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, Sundell gets to train where she is alongside the likes of three-sport sensation Stamp Fairtex.
The two champions have maintained a friendship throughout their growth to global superstardom, and Sundell noted that she hasn’t seen a big change in Stamp as the Thai has become a household name.
“She’s always been a happy girl and trains hard every day. She’s basically the same, funny girl. Still hungry (to get wins),” the strawweight Muay Thai queen said.
As Sundell continues her dominant reign atop her division, she has used Stamp as a guide to success. While she credits her family, the teen phenom is specific in pointing out how the former women’s atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing and current MMA titleholder leads by example in martial arts and has laid the groundwork for her to follow.
“I think I learned that you can achieve whatever you like as long as you put in the work. But I learned that from my parents too. But maybe more practical, in a sense, because Stamp did it in martial arts,” Sundell admitted.
ONE Fight Night 22 airs live on Prime Video on Friday, May 3, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The event is free for all U.S. and Canadian Amazon Prime members.