ONE Fight Night 10 is the card that everyone wants to get on. It seems that the entire roster had been hoping to feature on the promotion’s US debut and Diandra Martin knows that she is privileged to be a part of it.
The Australian takes on Jackie Buntan in Broomfield next month and is just pleased to be a part of this historic event,
“It’s awesome, I’m so stoked. As an athlete, I have gotten more noticed worldwide with my fights against Smilla (Sundell) and Amber Kitchen. Taking on big names, never saying no to anyone, and being recognized in the sport for what I can do is really great.”
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Opposite direction
She has fought twice in Singapore which is a relatively short hop from Canberra. This time around she will be heading in the opposite direction and is delighted to be taking the long flight to the US,
“Now I can go to America and show people what I can do. How many people get to say that they get to travel the world for their sport? I’m living a dream that I never thought I would.”
She has one win and one loss from her two ONE Championship fights. The sole defeat came at the hands of Smilla Sundell who would go on to capture the strawweight Muay Thai title.
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Small sample
Fans have only a small sample of previous Martin fights to pore over but she promises to be a totally different fighter next month,
“You’re going to see a new Diandra, you’re not going to see the same old things. So just get excited and have your popcorn ready. It’s going to be a good show.”
Her sister fought at ONE Friday Fights 11 last week. Martin says that it helps to have a suitable sized sparring partner in the family,
“I started originally and about a year later, I was like, ‘come try this.’ And then she tried it and she fell in love with it just like I did. We’ve been doing it ever since.”
She says that the sparring sessions can get extremely competitive,
“Basically, she’s the only person that if she hits me hard (but) I’ll go harder. Tt’s quite funny because we just want to beat each other each time, and it just goes up and up.”
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No animosity
But there is no animosity between her and Devina Martin. In fact the two ONE Championship fighters live together,
“It’s the heat of the moment, and then right after it’s just like nothing’s happened. What’s good, especially in training, is we’re very professional. Once training finishes, we’re just back to normal because we live together,” she explains.
Martin will never forget the feeling of winning her first fight. She was instantly hooked and has been hooked om the sport of Muay Thai ever since,
“That adrenaline of having your first fight and having your hand raised, I’ve never experienced something similar. So I just kept going (and) now here I am.”
Next month Martin will be in Denver. The journey from Canberra could take the best part of 24 hours but it will be worth it if she can experience the feeling of having her hand raised at the end of the fight.
