Reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues knew exactly how she wanted to end her title defense against Swedish slugger Johanna Persson – and she executed the plan to perfection.
The Brazilian mom-champ produced a statement-making performance in the main event of ONE Fight Night 33 on Prime Video this past Friday, July 11, as she secured a devastating third-round knockout victory to retain her crown at the world-famous Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
After weathering an early storm from the aggressive challenger, Rodrigues truly discovered her rhythm in the third frame and finished Persson with the exact combination she had been drilling in training camp at Phuket Fight Club.
The 27-year-old Brazilian revealed that the match-winning sequence wasn’t a moment of improvisation. Instead, it was carefully planned.
She said:
“We just wanted to control the distance. But in round two, we got a little bit lost. In round three, we found ourselves, and then we found [the knockout].
“We trained a lot on this shot. The body shot, more body shots, and the hook. We’ve been training this for many weeks already, and everything worked well.”
Rodrigues’ methodical approach paid dividends when she dropped the former WBC Muay Thai World Champion with a left hook early in round three. Seconds later, she sealed the US$50,000 performance bonus-winning knockout with that same devastating shot after setting it up with a body punch.
While the ending was picture-perfect, Rodrigues admitted Persson proved to be a tougher test than anticipated, particularly with her relentless forward pressure and volume punching.
The Brazilian said:
“We knew she was going to put on the pressure, but we didn’t think she was going to put in a lot of hands [as well]. She punched a lot.
“I let her hit a lot, but in the last round, the third round, I listened to my corner. They told me what to do, and then everything worked. Then, I found myself finishing the fight.”
Rodrigues improved her record to 35-7 with her fourth successful ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title defense, extending a reign that began when she dethroned three-sport superstar Stamp Fairtex in August 2020.
It also earned the Fortaleza native her second consecutive highlight-reel finish, just months after she stopped English-Irish dynamo Marie McManamon via fourth-round TKO in the main event of ONE Fight Night 29 this past March.
However, for her next battle, Rodrigues would like to wrap things up much quicker to prove why she remains the standard-bearer for elite female striking across all promotions:
“We want to finish fights and try to finish [my] fights earlier every time we come. We just find ourselves getting better in boxing, getting better in everything. It’s the focus here – finishing fights.”
Rodrigues Says MMA Debut Is On The Horizon
Though Allycia Hellen Rodrigues is more than ready to continue her reign of dominance in the atomweight Muay Thai division, the mom-champ confesses that she has received a calling to debut in mixed martial arts.
The Brazilian striker previously told onefc.com that she has her radar locked on her maiden appearance in the all-encompassing sport in 2026.
Fresh off her fourth World Title defense, her goal remains the same.
Having already extensively trained both gi and no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Phuket Fight Club, it shouldn’t take Rodrigues too long to add new facets to her world-class striking arsenal.
Sure, MMA will present the Brazilian with a plethora of new challenges. But if her path to 26 pounds of gold in Muay Thai is anything to go by, Rodrigues certainly has what it takes to reach the very pinnacle of MMA with the right approach, dedication, and mindset.
She said:
“My focus is to train MMA, and to start in MMA next year. We’re going to try to defend our belt if everything works well, but the final focus now is to go to MMA.”
