‘Best In The World’ – Stella Hemetsberger Reveals Her Pick For World Title Firefight Between Rodrigues, Phetjeeja
Two-sport ONE World Champion Stella “Always Hungry” Hemetsberger does not need a ringside seat to know how Allycia Hellen Rodrigues will perform in her next fight on the global stage.
Her teammate and close friend puts the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title on the line against “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom in the main event of The Inner Circle 19 in Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium this Friday, June 19.
The complete Asia primetime card streams exclusively for subscribers at live.onefc.com.
The bond between Hemetsberger — the reigning ONE Strawweight Muay Thai and Kickboxing World Champion — and the mom-champ runs deep.
They have trained together since 2022, when the RS-Gym representative arrived at Phuket Fight Club to turn professional. Rodrigues was already a ONE World Champion, living the dream “Always Hungry” had come to chase.
Four years on, they are both divisional queens, and the admiration has never wavered. Though Hemetsberger has been back home in Austria during the Brazilian’s fight camp, the distance has done nothing to diminish her certainty about what Friday night holds.
The 27-year-old Salzburgian told onefc.com:
“I haven’t been able to be there because I was at home, but I know Allycia and how hard she works.
“I’m certain she has been training like she always does – 100 percent locked in, grinding every day, and doing everything in her power to be an even better [version of herself] from the time we last saw her in the ring.”
The fight itself carries the kind of marquee weight that rarely comes around. These are two of the most accomplished female strikers in ONE Championship history, each carrying gold and capable of ending a night emphatically.
Rodrigues has gone 5-0 in the division and is out to ruin the Thai’s dream of two-sport glory. Meanwhile, Phetjeeja, the reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion, is undefeated in eight promotional appearances across both striking disciplines.
For Hemetsberger, the caliber of the opposition only adds to the occasion:
“I am excited that this fight is happening. It features two of the best female strikers facing each other, which can only mean it’s gonna be a great fight.
“Fighting Phetjeeja is just another opportunity for Allycia to show the world her abilities and why she is the World Champion. Facing strong opponents makes for great fights, which makes a win even more rewarding.”
While Hemetsberger’s respect runs both ways, the Austrian two-sport queen has sharpened her arsenal alongside Rodrigues long enough to know what separates her from fellow world-class opposition.
What she has seen across four years of shared sessions in Phuket leaves her with only one conclusion ahead of The Inner Circle 19.
She predicted:
“Allycia will remain champion and get the win. It is, of course, not going to be an easy fight.
“But if there is one person who can neutralize Phetjeeja, it is Allycia. Let’s all remember who it is that Phetjeeja will be facing.”
Hemetsberger Sends Rodrigues Fight Night Wishes
Not many know Allycia Hellen Rodrigues better than Stella Hemetsberger. And fewer still are better placed to explain what makes her so difficult to beat.
The Austrian slugger has seen the mom-champ’s grind on the mats before the cameras arrive and after they leave, absorbing, evolving, and refusing to settle for any version of herself that is not better than the one that came before.
That relentless drive for self-improvement is what sets the five-time ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion apart.
Hemetsberger said:
“From the first time I watched her train, she has just been constantly improving and getting better. She soaks up all the knowledge she can get and is getting stronger and stronger.
“She’s always getting better, smarter, and stronger since I’ve known her. It’s still just amazing to watch her train and even better to watch her fight.”
That admiration – genuine, earned, and built on years of shared sessions and a friendship that has grown well beyond the gym – flows naturally into the message Hemetsberger has for the 28-year-old ahead of this all-champion battle in Bangkok.
Hemetsberger missed the camp, but she will not miss the fight. She will be watching and cheering every second of it.
The double-champ concluded:
“Amiga, I can’t wait to watch you put on a great performance and fight. You’ve put in all the hard work. Now it’s time for the fun part.
“Go and show them why you are the best in the world. We all will be cheering for you.”
