Austrian star Stella Hemetsberger walked into her first title defense at ONE Fight Night 46 confident that she would get her hand raised. She did so in some fashion, too.
The two-sport ONE world champion successfully defended her ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world championship against Natalia Diachkova with a third-round knockout.
As a result, the 27-year-old moved to a perfect 6-0 in the organization and secured a deserving US$50,000 performance bonus. Speaking on the victory, Hemetsberger said:
“I’m feeling amazing, a very good day in the office. My number one goal is always to put on a good fight, put on a good performance, and get out with the win. If the knockout comes, it comes. And that just is like the cherry on top and makes the win even sweeter.”
Diachkova played the role of the aggressor when the bell sounded to flag off their main event clash inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on August 14. The Russian athlete came hunting for a finish behind heavy punching combinations.
Hemetsberger absorbed Diachkova’s best shots, though, and started adjusting her style when round two resumed. The Salzburg native pierced her foe with fierce hands, and stuck to her brilliant clinch game whenever the challenger decided to turn it into a phone booth war.
Having felt what her foe brought to the table with a couple of adjustments in the second frame, Hemetsberger started the third with intent. From there, it didn’t take long for her to wrap the contest.
The 27-year-old, who also holds the ONE women’s strawweight kickboxing world title, swung accurate and powerful shots at Diachkova before a left kick to the liver left the Russian wincing in pain. Spotting a chink in the armour, the defending champion uncorked another similar shot to the liver and followed up with a three-punch combo to seal the win in highlight-reel fashion at the 1:46 mark of the third stanza.
Looking back at the fight, the Phuket Fight Club and RS-GYM star admitted Diachkova’s aggression didn’t surprise her one bit, revealing she had a plan prepared to counter the Russian’s fiery style. She added:
“Honestly, (I’m) not really surprised. We made sure we are ready for whatever comes, just to fight our fight, execute our game plan – not her game plan. I’m very happy that I could let my performance speak in the ring. Like I said before the fight, she is a good fighter, but I showed that I was better today.”
Hemetsberger is now 11-1 in her career with three successive victories in world title fights. There has been no confirmation on who she faces next, but given her form, fans can expect the Austrian striker to continue dominating the division.
