Natalia Diachkova Isn’t Asking For A ONE World Title Shot, She’s Demanding One Back
Most challengers talk about earning a belt. Natalia Diachkova talks like it already belongs to her.
“Karelian Lynx” meets Stella “Always Hungry” Hemetsberger for the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title in the main event of ONE Fight Night 46, broadcasting live in US primetime this Friday, August 14, from Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium. The Russian carries a 32-5 overall record and a 6-1 mark inside the promotion, four of those wins coming by finish.
Diachkova insists her fighting philosophy has never been about the woman across from her, a mindset she credits for getting her this far in the first place.
“I often say: I enter the fight to fight only myself. I don’t see my opponents, watch them, think about what they think or how they think. I can’t say or think I beat this one or that one, no, I beat only myself, because we are all in different conditions,” she said.
That internal focus does not mean Diachkova lacks a firm opinion on the champion standing in her way. She believes Hemetsberger’s title defenses have flattered the Austrian more than they have proven anything.
“When I was watching her fight, it was very smart against Jackie Buntan. She was gaining points, swatting away punches and didn’t want to fight. She feared Jackie’s hits. I consulted with the best trainers of Russia and Thailand, and all of them said it’s not Stella who won, it’s Jackie who lost,” she said.
Pressed on what this fight means to her, Diachkova did not hold back.
“I’m the strongest in the world. To be honest, I just say: Stella, give me my f****** belt. If you beat me, respect. But you haven’t fought me and you can’t be the champion.”
Win or lose, Diachkova says the fight carries meaning well beyond her own record, extending to the students back home in Petrozavodsk who watch every performance for proof that their own dreams are still alive.
“Each one of them can believe in herself, in her dream, and by this, I’m telling them: everything is possible in your life.”
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