ONE Fight Night 40: Stella Hemetsberger Seeks Two-Sport World Title Dream

Austria's Stella Hemetsberger stands one victory away from making history as her country's first two-sport ONE World Champion when she challenges Jackie Buntan for the strawweight kickboxing crown in the main event of ONE Fight Night 40 on 14 February.

The 27-year-old from Phuket Fight Club and RS-GYM holds a perfect 4-0 ONE record and defeated Buntan via unanimous decision last year to capture the strawweight Muay Thai crown. Now she seeks kickboxing gold to complete her two-sport quest.

Hemetsberger acknowledges that her previous victory over Buntan provided confidence heading into this rematch. However, she refuses to become overconfident, treating this kickboxing title challenge as a completely new fight requiring full preparation and dedication.

"Of course, beating Jackie gave me confidence. But I never get too confident in any position. This is a completely new fight for me. Jackie is a strong fighter, so I'm still very much aware that I have to put in the work to come out on top," Hemetsberger said.

Hemetsberger's measured approach demonstrates maturity. She understands that their September 2025 Muay Thai bout occurred under different rules, and Buntan will be extremely motivated defending her kickboxing throne on Valentine's Day.

For the challenger, capturing kickboxing gold alongside her Muay Thai belt represents the ultimate validation of her striking excellence across multiple disciplines. Hemetsberger's primary motivation comes from joining the elite ranks of two-sport ONE World Champions.

"Becoming a two-sport World Champion is my main motivation for this fight. It'll be nice to have another beautiful belt. I'm not visualizing too much, but yeah, the ideal process is my hand getting raised at the end of all of it again," Hemetsberger said.

The Austrian's focus on hand-raising rather than specific performance details reveals her mindset. Hemetsberger prioritizes victory above all else while remaining flexible about how that triumph materializes during five rounds of action.

"The ideal ending would always be a knockout. But my main focus is winning that fight and putting on a good performance. If the chance for a knockout comes in this fight, I'd be very happy," Hemetsberger said.