Lara Fernandez will be making her ONE Championship debut next week. The Spanish star has been handed an immediate title shot and will face Janet Todd in a bout that has the interim atomweight Muay Thai belt on the line.
Fans that aren’t familiar with the 26 year old can get a glimpse of her potential in this video which was posted on Instagram earlier this week:
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Looking sharp
Fernandez certainly looks sharp. The Spanish star realizes that she is relatively unknown heading into ONE 159 but feels she has the opportunity to make an immediate impression at the Singapore Indoor Stadium,
“The fans barely know me, but I will put on a show. Then I will become their favorite fighter.”
The fans in question have seen a lot more of Todd who says she is excited to face a ‘new challenge’ in Fernandez. This will be her eighth ONE Championship fights and the American has won all but one of her previous bouts for the promotion and will be looking to capture her second title here.
It sounds like Fernandez is happy to have finally arrived on the big stage after a career spent competing primarily in Europe,
“To be part of ONE means a lot to me. Now I know I will face the best fighters in the world. That’s like a dream come true. That’s what every fighter wants to do in this career. That’s what I like the most about ONE, I get to fight against the best,” she said.
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Local show
Spain isn’t exactly known for producing Muay Thai fighters. But Fernandez says she fell in love with the sport after watching a local show,
“I discovered Muay Thai for the first time at an event that took place in my town. It caught my attention so much that I wanted to try it. If I’m honest, I don’t even know what made me fall in love with it. I just wanted to try it, I started training, and since then, I haven’t stopped.”
She will have the opportunity to fight for a major title next week. She has already captured the WBC flyweight belt but sees ONE Championship as the pinnacle of the sport,
“Signing with ONE Championship is like reaching the top of the sport. I am super happy, super excited. My biggest dream was to be amongst the top fighters and, now that I am here, it’s a great motivation to keep going and someday beat them all. I work hard every day. I really believe I am at the same level now.”
