She’s Next – WMMA Weekly Preview

Each week, I’ll highlight one women’s prospect on my radar and in action in the upcoming days

Smilla “The Storm” Sundell

Record: 0-0 (36-5 in Muai Thay)

Weight Class: Bantamweight

Age: 21 years old

Training: Fairtex Pataya

Combined opponents’ record: 0-0

 

This week, I’m taking a different route for my WMMA column. I usually try to highlight the best female fighter of the week. Most often, the one I believe is closest to getting the call from a major organization. There were plenty of options to choose from this week. I decided to introduce a new athlete to the world of MMA instead. The Swedish fighter Smilla Sundell, a former kickboxing and Muay Thai competitor who has ultimately decided to transition to MMA. Despite having a blank record in the sport, I chose to focus on her for this piece.

 

Sundell was born on November 12^th, 2004, in Sundbyberg, Sweden. She’s known for her aggressive style and exceptional maturity for her age. She quickly established herself as one of the greatest female talents in Muay Thai and kickboxing.

 

She discovered martial arts at a very young age. Her parents first enrolled her in karate for self-defense, but it was in Thailand, as a teenager. There, she truly fell in love with Muay Thai. Her family moved to the island of Koh Samui, where she set foot in a Thai boxing gym for the first time. At first, training was just a hobby, but her natural talent and discipline quickly turned it into a lifelong pursuit.

 

At around 12 years old, she began competing in amateur fights in Thailand. She racked up nearly thirty fights in Koh Samui, learning early on how to handle the pressure and pace of combat. At fifteen, her family returned to Sweden, but Smilla made a radical decision: she stayed behind in Thailand to pursue her career. She moved to Pattaya and joined the renowned Fairtex Gym, one of the most prestigious training camps in the world. This choice marked a major turning point in her life. She began training full-time, surrounded by champions in a structured and highly competitive environment.

 

Her rise was meteoric. After a series of impressive regional performances, she signed with ONE Championship, one of the world’s largest combat sports promotions. She made her debut in February 2022, earning a stoppage victory over Diandra Martin. Just weeks later, she fought Jackie Buntan for the inaugural ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world title. At only 17 years old, she won by unanimous decision, becoming the youngest world champion in Muay Thai history under the ONE banner.

 

As champion, she quickly proved she was more than just a prodigy. She defended her belt against elite challengers and built an international reputation. One of her most notable fights came in September 2023, when she faced Allycia Hellen Rodrigues in a title-unification bout. That night, she delivered a dominant performance and won by third-round TKO, reinforcing her status as a world-class fighter.

 

Sundell had signed a six fight contract scheduled to be completed over a 2.5 year span. However, her final bout was downgraded from a title fight after she weighed in at 126.5 pounds. Championship rules allow no margin above the 125 pound limit, and the promotion ultimately chose to release Smilla from her contract. With no Muay Thai division at 135 pounds, there was little incentive to force another weight cut for a non title fight.

Rather than viewing it as a setback, Sundell saw the situation as an opportunity to turn the page. Increasingly intrigued by MMA, she felt it was the right moment to step outside Thailand and pursue a new challenge. With elite striking already in place, she wanted to immerse herself in wrestling and high level Brazilian jiu jitsu to round out her skill set. That decision led her to Vancouver, Canada, where she relocated to train at Diaz Combat Sports and fully commit to the next chapter of her career.

Despite her young age, Sundell has already compiled an exceptional résumé. More than thirty professional Muay Thai victories, a high finishing rate, and wins over world-class opponents. Standing around 5’8”, she benefits from a reach advantage that allows her to control distance and dictate the pace of her fights. Beyond her athletic achievements, she is known for her discipline and mindset. She describes herself as an athlete obsessed with improvement, intolerant of failure, and willing to make significant sacrifices to achieve excellence. Her life revolves almost entirely around training, recovery, and constant learning.

 

At this stage of her career, Sundell is widely regarded as one of the most promising young female athletes in combat sports. Her blend of youth, already vast experience, and championship mentality suggests a potentially major transition into MMA. For many observers, she could quickly become one of the biggest prospects in the bantamweight division, a weight class in dire need of new stars.

 

The Swedish striker is set to make her professional MMA debut against Miranda Barber on Thursday at Tuff-N-Uff 151 in Las Vegas. Surprisingly, the fight will be held at a 150-pound catchweight, as Barber usually fights at Featherweight and is taking the fight on short notice. Barber enters the matchup with a 2-6 record and a clear advantage in MMA experience, having competed frequently on the regional scene. Nonetheless, Smilla should be able to roll with ease in this particular matchup since Miranda Barber has been finished multiple times in her career so far, and Sundell’s elite striking background should provide her with a clear path to victory.