Anne Line Hogstad is coming off an win at ONE: ‘Fire & Fury’. She beat the former title challenger by majority decision and instantly secured herself the #3 spot in the atomweight Muay Thai rankings.
This week she faces #2 ranked Janet Todd and the Norwegian says it would mean a lot if she could secure a shot at the title,
“It would mean everything in the world to me, especially coming from a country where full Muay Thai rules are not allowed,” she said.
Title mix
Her fight with Todd will be the final bout on the card at ONE on TNT part II this Wednesday (US time). Hogstad earned the opportunity by beating Alma Juniku and feels that victory really put her in the title mix,
“The win over Alma was huge. She’s a superstar. She was the ‘Fighter of the Year’ in Australia, so I feel that was a big win for me. It was good to have that as my first fight in ONE Championship. It’s the best feeling in the world.”
She is impressed by the footage she has seen of Todd who holds the atomweight kickboxing belt,
“I think she has a great style. She’s fast and she’s an action fighter. Her biggest weapons are her fast hands and her high kicks. We’ve been working on that.”
Speed and power
For anyone that hasn’t seen the Norwegian fight she says her greatest assets are speed and power,
“My biggest strengths are that I’m strong and fast, and I have very hard punches,” she said.
Allycia Rodrigues is the reigning atomweight champion. But the Brazilian recently announced she is pregnant and looks unlikely to make the first defence of her title this year.
Similar situation
Atomweight MMA champion Angela Lee is in a similar situation and has not been stripped of her title. So the title might not be up for grabs any time soon but Hogstad is determined to be in the mix when the time finally comes,
“I need to win over Janet Todd, and I really hope after that I will have a title shot in Muay Thai.”
Hogstad hinted that she had seen some weaknesses in Todd’s game which could be exploited on Wednesday,
“I have seen her and I have studied her. Everybody has got holes that you can take so I rely on that. I managed to break down those holes,” she said.
Different climate
She has left the Norwegian winter behind to travel to Singapore. It is a dramatic change of climate even if the current Covid—19 regulations mean she will spend most of her time quarantined in a hotel room.
For Hogstad this is all part and parcel of life as a ONE Championship fighter and she is determined to enjoy the entire experience,
“Every time you are on new journeys, you meet new people and new people inspire you to do better. So, I always have that in my mind, to be inspired, train hard, and just see how far I can get now that I’m in ONE Championship.”
