ONE Championship: Wondergirl determined to finish what gets started in Cardoso mixed-rules clash
- Nat ‘Wondergirl’ Jaroonsak will take on Dayane Cardoso in two rounds of Muay Thai and two of MMA at ONE Fight Night 19
- The Thai fighter is no stranger to competing under different rulesets, but wants to focus on MMA once this bout is over
Few fighters can have competed for ONE Championship under as many different rulesets as Nat ‘Wondergirl’ Jaroonsak. She has already fought in Muay Thai, kickboxing, MMA and modified rules boxing.
At ONE Fight Night 19 on Saturday the 25-year-old will be competing in two different sports during the course of a single bout. Her fight with Dayane Cardoso will have two rounds of Muay Thai and two rounds of MMA.
The Thai said there would be no judges and if the fight went the distance it would be called a draw. In an exclusive interview with the Post, Nat said she was determined to find the finish.
“It’s no decision, it’s just a draw and I want to win,” Jaroonsak said. “I think both of us want to finish the fight so it doesn’t end in a draw.”
Given her extensive experience in Muay Thai, and the fact she’s been training and competing in MMA, the rules should suit Jaroonsak. But once this fight is out of the way she plans to focus exclusively on her MMA career.
“I want to stay focused on one sport, not like I do everything and I’m not good at everything,” she said. “I want to stay focused on MMA.”
The result of this contest won’t appear on either fighter’s record so it is unlikely to have a huge impact on their careers, it was a similar situation in Jaroonsak’s last bout, a modified boxing clash against Xiong Jing Nan.
Stopped in the third round, the Thai fighter took several blows to the back of the head and thinks the fight should have been ruled a “no contest”.
“I want to rematch Xiong Jing Nan after the last fight,” she said. “She landed on the back of my head a lot. It’s different from getting KO’d from the front, I don’t know how to explain the feeling you just feel not right. I think it should be a no contest.”
While Jaroonsak has been able to switch codes, she said it was not easy.
“If I fought Muay Thai I would need to stop MMA to adjust my body again,” she said. “Some people they think it’s the same, its combat sport, just punching and kicking but it is different. A lot of things are different.”
There will be plenty of switching on Saturday, with the four-round fight comprising two rounds of Muay Thai and two rounds of MMA with both fighters wearing the smaller gloves throughout.
Long-term, Jaroonsak knows that switching between the two different sports will not be sustainable.
“MMA and Muay Thai if you keep switching you are not going to reach your best, you need to pick a way,” she said.
Being able to compete in so many different sports means there are plenty of opponents out there, and she is clearly interested in a fight with reigning strawweight MMA champion Xiong Jing Nan, albeit not under boxing rules.
The Thai also said she would be ready to fight either Stamp or Zamboanga if the opportunity arose, although both compete at a lighter weight. She wants to compete regularly in 2024, but is ready to face any opponent under any ruleset.
“It depends on ONE Championship, I’m good with all of them,” she said.
