“F*ck, it’s a close one”

Newly crowned ONE women’s strawweight kickboxing world champion Stella Hemetsberger of Austria admitted she was a bundle of nerves awaiting the scorecards to be read in the main event of ONE Fight Night 40 last Feb. 13.

Her rematch with Jackie Buntan once again went the five rounds in yet another epic thriller at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Her heart nearly sank after Dom Lau announced she won via split decision, making her a two-sport world champion.

‘Always Hungry’ recalled that cardiac moment during her in-ring interview shortly after claiming her second belt.

“I do believe I did enough to get the win. Reading the judges’ score, I was like, oh, f*ck, it’s a close one. I was like, no, it’s ours, we did it. Hearing the official result was amazing, incredible. I don’t have words.”

The Buntan-Hemetsberger sequel proved even better than the first one, as the two fierce female strikers once again left it all in the ring.

The competitive bout featured momentum swings, with Buntan’s sharp boxing going against Hemetsberger’s precise volume striking and counterattacks.

In the end, the 26-year-old’s punishing leg attacks and body work down the stretch proved to be the catalyst for another historic victory.

ONE Fight Night 40 full results

Stella Hemetsberger defeats Jackie Buntan via split decision (women’s strawweight kickboxing world title)

Nico Carrillo defeats Shadow Singmawynn via unanimous decision (interim featherweight Muay Thai world title)

Hu Yong defeats Danny Kingad via TKO (flyweight MMA)

Ben Tynan defeats Ryugo Takeuchi via submission (heavyweight MMA)

Adrian Lee defeats Shozo Isojima via TKO (lightweight MMA)

Lucas Gabriel defeats Magomed Akaev via unanimous decision (lightweight MMA)

Fabricio Andrey defeats Joao Mendes via unanimous decision (submission grappling)

Jihin Radzuan defeats Gabriela Fujimoto via TKO (atomweight MMA)

Catch the replay of ONE Fight Night 40 on demand through Prime Video for North American subscribers.