Allycia Rodrigues is coming off the first defeat of her ONE Championship career. The Brazilian moved up to strawweight at late notice to challenge reigning champion Smilla Sundell.
She might have lost on that occasion but the result certainly didn’t dent her confidence. In face it gave Rodrigues, who faces Cristina Morales at ONE Fight Night 20 on Saturday, even more belief,
“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.”
Smilla Sundell looked UNSTOPPABLE at #ONEFightNight14! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/NXRleQkOfM
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 4, 2023
Clash of styles
Morales earned her title shot by beating Supergirl Jaroonsakgym. Rodrigues was clearly impressed by that performance,
“She has good combinations of punches and knees, which is how she managed to win her last fight. She’s coming off a big win, so I’m looking forward to our showdown.”
Morales has never fought for ONE Championship under kickboxing rules. In fact she does not have too much previous experience of Muay Thai and Rodrigues clearly believes that her superior experience will come into play,
“I don’t think our styles are comparable. She comes from kickboxing and I’ve trained Muay Thai my whole life but she likes striking and so do I so it will be a great fight.”
The atomweight Muay Thai queen RIPS through the pads 🥊 Allycia Hellen Rodrigues defends her crown against Cristina Morales on March 8 at ONE Fight Night 20 on @PrimeVideo! 🏆
#ONEFightNight20 | Mar 8 at 8PM ET
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch Live on Prime
🇬🇧🇮🇪 Watch Live on Sky Sports pic.twitter.com/20wyhLgmTO— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 3, 2024
The best
The height difference between Sundell and Rodrigues was staggering. The Brazilian is clearly not a natural strawweight and was always facing an uphill task to win that belt.
Despite all this she feels she could have fared batter in that fight,
“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.”
It doesn’t sound like nerves will be an issue for the Brazilian on Saturday. She promises to be at ‘her best’ and plans to prove it by knocking out the Spaniard,
“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.”
