ONE Championship

A rivalry that once defined an entire division may not get its expected third chapter after all.

Stella Hemetsberger retained her ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title with a third-round knockout of Natalia Diachkova at ONE Fight Night 46, broadcasting live on Prime Video from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium this past Friday, August 14. The win pushed her ONE Championship record to a perfect 6-0 and earned a US$50,000 performance bonus for the finish.

With the Diachkova rivalry now closed at 1-0, attention naturally turns to former ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jackie Buntan, the fighter Hemetsberger beat twice on her way to two-sport gold. Hemetsberger sounds in no rush to run it back a third time.

“Honestly, after 2-0, I guess we do have a dominant direction in that matter of that rivalry. Jackie is a good fighter, I guess she’s gonna fight again in ONE, and we’ll see about that. Maybe in the future at some point, but right now after the 2 and 0, maybe some other opponent next,” she said.

Stella Hemetsberger rules out MMA for now

Hemetsberger has also shut down any near-term talk of a move to mixed martial arts, despite her growing case as one of the sport’s most dominant two-sport champions. Comparisons to Stamp Fairtex’s historic three-sport run have already started circulating given how thoroughly she has dominated both of her current divisions.

“MMA is not on the plan right now. I like to focus on the two disciplines I’m doing already. Never say never, but right now it’s not on the plan,” she said.

For now, Hemetsberger says she is content simply choosing between her two existing divisions for what comes next, leaving both the Buntan trilogy and any bigger cross-discipline ambitions parked for a later date.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM