‘Show Who I Really Am’ – Allycia Hellen Rodrigues Vows To Bring Her Best In World Title Defense At ONE Fight Night 20
Allycia Hellen Rodrigues expects to get back in peak form when she defends her ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title in U.S. primetime this Friday, March 8.
The Brazilian star will face Cristina Morales in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 20: Todd vs. Phetjeeja on Prime Video, and after an unsuccessful challenge of strawweight Muay Thai queen Smilla Sundell, she’s fired up to put her gold on the line.
Although Rodrigues jumped at the chance to go for a second belt in the higher weight class last September, she’s even more determined to keep her atomweight strap at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Phuket Fight Club representative told onefc.com:
“I always focus on my fights, but whenever I defend my belt, that focus is doubled. This time I’m not going to let anything get in my way. Nothing at all. I can’t wait to fight and show who I really am.
“I believe it will be a good striking fight. She’s coming off a big win, so I’m looking forward to our showdown.”
It won’t be easy, as Rodrigues is facing a three-time Kickboxing World Champion in Morales who most recently earned a big stoppage victory over Anna “Supergirl” Jaroonsak in November.
The 25-year-old thinks her challenger’s style will make for an exciting contest, but after battling Sundell at strawweight and defeating a pair of superstars in Stamp Fairtex and Janet Todd at atomweight, she isn’t overly concerned.
Rodrigues explained:
“I don’t think our styles are comparable. [Morales] comes from kickboxing, and I’ve trained Muay Thai my whole life. But I realized that she likes striking, and so do I. So, it will be a great fight.
“She has good combinations of punches and knees, which is how she managed to win her last fight.
“But, honestly, I’ve faced the best on the circuit in several different styles. And after the last fight I had in a higher division against a girl twice my size, I can’t see any danger in anyone else.”
Rodrigues: ‘I’m Going In Search Of The Knockout’
Allycia Hellen Rodrigues’ ambitious move to challenge Smilla Sundell for the ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title didn’t go as planned when she was finished late in the third round by the towering Swede.
The atomweight Muay Thai queen can handle defeat – especially when taking big risks for big rewards – but she was disappointed about not fulfilling her potential in that World Champion vs. World Champion matchup at ONE Fight Night 14.
Reflecting on the loss, she said:
“What happened is that I let the adrenaline take over me. I’m always very nervous in all my fights. I still can’t quite control it. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it has happened a few times. The fight itself didn’t bother me, but I feel like I lost to myself.”
With that last performance in mind, the Brazilian is promising to come back even stronger with her World Title up for grabs against Cristina Morales.
Rodrigues wants to make a statement that she is the world’s best atomweight – and she is determined to end matters emphatically this Friday.
She added:
“I’m going in search of the knockout. I’m going to show everything I couldn’t show in the last fight. You can expect the best from me.”
