Three-time muay thai world champion Ekaterina Vandaryeva aka the “Barbie of Muay Thai”, will lock horns against her rival Anna Jaroonsak this Friday, at ONE Fight Night 6. In January of last year, the fighters faced each other and the result was a split decision in favor of Jaroonsak, which became a controversy.
In a recent interview, the Belarusian told how she felt after the defeat and repudiated her opponent’s attitudes outside the Octagon.
“There is nothing worse than injustice. When it happens, you don’t know what to do, how to act, but I was happy with the amount of people who stood up in the arena and supported me when this absurd decision was made. I still get letters from people who care, and that means a lot to me,” said Vandaryeva.
With an eye on Friday’s rematch in Bangkok, the 31-year-old athlete, who also doubles as a TV presenter and mother, detailed her plans in the rematch against Jaroonsak and above everything else, Vandaryeva stated that she wants to feel good about herself at the end of the fight
“A long time ago, my coach and I realized that I don’t show all my potential in a fight. Even I myself know how heavy my punches can be. And everywhere I went and trained with, I always heard that what they saw was unusual even for male athletes. At the end of the day, I just really want to have my perfect fight, the one where I’m 100% happy with myself.”
Aside from the grudges in the cage, Vandaryeva’s relationship with her Thai adversary is far from smooth outside the cage as well.
“I would hardly be able to be friends with a person who thinks that she should only be a champion because of his origin,” she went on, “I couldn’t be friends with a woman who calls her opponent “old lady” in interviews. That’s disrespectful. I would be ashamed of this type of behavior if I were her father – shot Ekaterina, who has three wins and three losses in her professional cartel in muay thai. Her opponent Anna Jaroonsak won the two fights she had so far on ONE in the modality.”
The “Barbie of Muay Thai” has been out of competition for 12 months, as she fought with a broken arm and suffered a double fracture, and underwent surgery. During the recovery period, the Belarusian confessed to having considered quitting the sport and revealed to have received support from Andrei Gridin, coach of light heavyweight champion Roman Krykilia.
“I had time to think about what to do in the future. I thought a lot about giving up, because the judges will hardly give me the opportunity to become champion. Or radically change everything, do more and still try to finish the job. At the time, I received great support from the legendary coach Andrei Gridin,” added Vandaryeva.
ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov Full Fight Card:
Main card
- Superbon Singha Mawynn vs. Chingiz Allazov; For Mawynn’s ONE featherweight kickboxing title
- Superlek Kiatmoo9 vs. Daniel Puertas; For the vacant ONE flyweight kickboxing title
- Mikey Musumeci vs. Gantumur Bayanduuren; For Musumeci’s ONE flyweight submission grappling title
- Stamp Fairtex vs. Anissa Meksen; Atomweight mixed rules
- Aung La N Sang vs. Gilberto Galvao; Catchweight (97.5kg)
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Jiduo Yibu; Flyweight kickboxing
- Garry Tonon vs. Johnny Nunez; Featherweight
Live after main card
- Anna Jaroonsak vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva; Strawweight Muay Thai
- Kim Jae Woong vs. Shoko Sato; Catchweight (64.7kg)
