It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for Jackie Buntan as the strawweight Muay Thai star’s popularity continues to skyrocket.
On May 5, the Filipino-American scored a huge knockout win over Diandra Martin at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video, and she’s been enjoying her downtime since that historic night at Colorado’s 1stBank Center.
On Mother’s Day this past Sunday, May 14, Buntan was invited to watch her local Major League Soccer team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and she took her mom along to Dignity Health Sports Park.
After arriving at the stadium, the California native spoke with reporters and received plenty of attention from fans – which both surprised and thrilled her mother.
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Buntan recalled:
“My mom was excited to go. I don’t think she fully understood what I was doing. I think she just assumed it was a free ticket, so why not? But once we got there, I had to check in with the LA Galaxy media and go down and go in front of the camera. They told me, ‘You’ll be on the Jumbotron,’ and all this.
“I think my mom was just taking it all in and super stoked and recording me the whole time. That’s what moms do. She’s very proud of me. My success is her success. And the fact that we’re able to do something like this outside of Muay Thai, I think that made her even more proud that I could branch off and do certain things outside of the sport.”
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While both Buntan and her mom were newcomers to the world of soccer, the five-time MLS Cup Champions bring an average crowd of over 21,000 to every home game, and they might have just added two more regulars to the list.
On Sunday, LA Galaxy defeated the rival San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 in a match dubbed “The California Clasico,” and the 25-year-old Buntan says she’s eager to return after such a memorable evening:
“This was a completely new experience for me. We all enjoyed ourselves. It was a fun night. It was a pretty big crowd, so the energy was great. But yeah, new experience and definitely not the last. I’d love to go to another game.”
Does Jackie Buntan Have A Future In Modeling?
Along with her meteoric rise in combat sports, Jackie Buntan has been busy with exciting side projects.
The Boxing World representative recently shot her first magazine cover for global fashion brand Numero Netherlands, and she thrived in her role as both model and assassin.
Buntan is clearly a natural in front of the camera and looks just as comfortable on the front pages as she is inside the Circle.
Proudly posting images from her recent shoot, the top strawweight Muay Thai contender said:
“My first ever cover with @numero_netherlands
What a special project to be a part of – do things that inspire you and feed your energy”
