Allycia Hellen Rodrigues Cites ONE Atomweight MMA Champ As Inspiration To Fight Again

Allycia Hellen Rodrigues was crowned the undisputed queen of the atomweight Muay Thai division after pulling off a strong victory over Janet Todd at ONE Fight Night 9.

The Brazilian heroine admitted that she drew some inspiration from a fellow champion.

Speaking to the media after the event, Rodrigues gave full credit to ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee.

"I know how hard it is to come back from that situation (pregnancy) and I got inspired by Angela Lee. I want to do the same and inspire them the way Angela inspired me," Rodrigues revealed.

Lee made her return to the fight game in March 2022 against Stamp Fairtex after a nearly three-year absence to defend her title, and worries of ring rust were quickly erased as she would go on to finish the fight by rear-naked choke in the second round.

Similarly, Rodrigues had not been seen by fans inside the cage since taking the lineal title from Stamp at ONE: A New Breed in August 2020 as she took time away to raise her first child.

During that time, Rodrigues lit up social media with videos of her training while in the thick of her pregnancy.

Rodrigues and Todd were originally scheduled to fight last December at ONE on Fight Night 5, but the bout was pushed back after the latter tested positive for COVID-19.

When the pair did meet in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 8, it was Todd who came out the aggressor.

The interim champion took the center of the cage as soon as the opening bell rang and was landing shots at will, while a seemingly hesitant Rodrigues barely threw combinations at all.

Todd would go on to dominate the first and second rounds simply with her activity and as many grew concerned about whether Rodrigues should have taken a warm-up fight first, she flipped a switch in the third.

Using her punches to push Todd back into the cage, the lineal champ went to work with sharp elbows that landed flush and opened up a cut on the interim titleholder.

When it was all said and done, a late-game push by Rodrigues had the judges convinced and she was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

"Well, it was over two years I've been out of fighting, so my timing was off too and we planned to start slow. But after the third round, we knew which direction to take," Rodrigues later said about her performance.

"We knew she was gonna start strong and fast. We just kept calm and I listened to my corner. Listening to my corner helped me get the victory."

With Todd out of the way and her promising to be "a better version of myself," Rodrigues made it known that she wants a new challenge by facing the former for her kickboxing title while also potentially facing Stamp in a rematch.

"Stamp [Fairtex] called me out. I'm gonna be there. Just tell us the day and the time," Rodrigues declared.