We Speak Kickboxing

Two Belts, One Queen: Stella Hemetsberger Edges Jackie Buntan in a Five-Round War to Make ONE Championship History

Published

8 months ago

February 14, 2026

Stella Hemetsberger now rules two sports at once. The Austrian dethroned Filipino-American champion Jackie Buntan by split decision in the main event of ONE Fight Night 40 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok on Friday, February 13, capturing the ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Title in their rematch.

Hemetsberger entered the fight already holding the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title, and the win made her just the third two-sport queen in ONE Championship history, following Stamp Fairtex and Janet Todd — and the first Austrian ever to claim two-sport gold in the promotion. The victory improved the 27-year-old’s record to 10-1 and completed a 2-0 sweep of her series with Buntan.

The rematch was a five-round chess match that swung late. The 28-year-old Buntan, a California native, held the edges in speed and power through a feeling-out first round, then accelerated in the second behind jab-straight right and cross-left hook combinations capped with low kicks. Hemetsberger answered with explosive combinations that pressed the defending champion against the ropes.

Buntan’s footwork and counters carried much of round three, but the fourth frame proved pivotal. Hemetsberger found her mark with the right body kick and grew more aggressive as the round wore on, disrupting the champion’s rhythm the more the kicks landed.

The defining moment arrived in the final round, when a Hemetsberger push kick sent Buntan crashing to the canvas. Buntan rose immediately, and the two exchanged shots one last time before the final bell. When the scorecards came back split, the strawweight kickboxing crown changed hands — and ONE had a new two-sport queen.

The bout headlined a U.S.-primetime ONE Fight Night card at the historic Lumpinee Stadium, and it delivered on the billing: five rounds, a champion sent to the canvas in the final frame and a result that rewrote the promotion’s history books. Hemetsberger leaves Bangkok holding gold in two disciplines — a feat matched in ONE only by Fairtex and Todd before her.

We Speak Boxing

GLORY COLLISION 10: Mory Kromah Defends Heavyweight Title Against Antonio Plazibat on December 12

Published

4 days ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

GLORY Heavyweight World Champion Mory Kromah defends his title against Antonio Plazibat at COLLISION 10 in Arnhem.

ARNHEM, Netherlands — The stage is officially set for one of the biggest heavyweight kickboxing fights of the year, as GLORY COLLISION 10 will feature reigning GLORY Heavyweight World Champion Mory Kromah defending his title against Croatian knockout artist Antonio Plazibat.

The championship showdown takes place Saturday, December 12, inside the iconic GelreDome, one of Europe’s premier stadium venues, promising a spectacular night of elite kickboxing action. The same card also features an eight-man Welterweight Grand Prix, where champion Chico Kwasi’s belt will be defended through the tournament, and a clash between Tarik Khbabez and Mohamed Touchassie.

Kromah (38-3-1, 25 KOs) enters his second heavyweight title defense after an unforgettable performance at GLORY COLLISION 9. The champion retained his crown in spectacular fashion by knocking out Milos Cvjeticanin with a devastating flying knee that quickly became one of the year’s most viral combat sports highlights — according to GLORY, the knockout generated more than 10 million views across the promotion’s social media platforms, helping establish Kromah as one of kickboxing’s fastest-rising global stars.

The rivalry needs no selling. At a promotional staredown in Rotterdam in September, the two men had to be separated in a scuffle that left a security guard on the canvas, and they were put in the same room again at the GLORY 110 fan zone in Antwerp this past weekend.

“Plazibat thinks he is coming to take my belt. He can think again,” Kromah said. “He already had his time in GLORY. This is a new era, the Mory Kromah era. When my knee connects to his chin, he will go to sleep and only dream of becoming GLORY champion.”

Plazibat (24-5, 17 KOs) secured his opportunity by delivering an emphatic knockout victory over Anis Bouzid at GLORY COLLISION 9, immediately solidifying himself as the division’s No. 1 contender. The Croatian powerhouse made his intentions perfectly clear.

“The plan is simple. I will smash his face and beat him down until he quits,” Plazibat said. “No more playing heavyweight for Mory Kromah. He does not know the world he is entering when he is in the ring with me.”

The heavyweight title Kromah holds was made famous by Rico Verhoeven, who ruled the division for a decade before leaving GLORY for the boxing ring — where he challenged Oleksandr Usyk for a world title in Egypt in May. Verhoeven is back in the headlines this week: the Dutchman says he has accepted an offer to box former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on December 11, the night before COLLISION 10, though Wilder’s agreement and the final terms are not yet confirmed.

Tickets for GLORY COLLISION 10 are on sale now through GLORYKickboxing.com.