Allycia Hellen Rodrigues has not given up on her goal of realizing her ambition of becoming a two-division world champion and joining this select group of athletes just yet. On September 29, at ONE Fight Night 14, she is scheduled to compete against Smilla Sundell, the current world champion in the strawweight division of kickboxing.
In her most recent interview with the South China Morning Post, Rodrigues, together with her coach Leo Elias, revealed their primary plan heading into the bout in an effort to counteract the five-inch height advantage that the reigning champion possesses:
Leo Elias, Rodrigues’s coach, offered the following statement on Rodrigues’s behalf:
“At this time, she engaged in a great deal of manual labor. These days, we have the impression that we jumble things up. Boxing is something she practices on occasion, and she’s noticeably improving her handwork as a result. We demonstrated it in the most recent fight, and we will continue to demonstrate that in the upcoming ones.
Due to the fact that both Rodrigues and Sundell are unbeaten competitors in the most prestigious martial arts organization in the world, their next match is sure to be an epic battle.
Sundell has three wins to her record as a result of beating Diandra Martin (through third-round TKO), Jackie Buntan (by unanimous decision), and Miana Bjelogrlic (via unanimous decision). Rodrigues has victories against Stamp Fairtex (via majority decision) and Janet Todd (via unanimous decision).
Rodrigues is just 25 years old, while Sundell is only 18 years old, making her the youngest fighter to win a world championship on ONE’s Muay Thai roster. Both are also very young in their professional careers in combat sports, with Rodrigues being the older of the two at the moment.
On September 29, Prime Video customers in North America will not be charged for access to ONE Fight Night 14, since this event will be made available to them at no additional cost.
