Janet Todd Raring To Prove Quality In Muay Thai Unification Title Bout

Janet Todd has had a long road towards challenging for the lineal ONE women's atomweight Muay Thai title currently held by Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, which features her testing positive for COVID-19 the first time the fight was put together back in December.

"I remember bawling my eyes out. And I was just in shock. I didn't believe it. Because the last time I had COVID, I had body pains and fever, and I didn't have any of that. It was just like a stuffy nose, which I thought were allergies because we were staying at a casino where there's cigarette smoke that I'm not used to," Todd recounted.

With fans eagerly waiting to crown an undisputed champion, Todd also stated that she has completely recovered after her brush with the virus and is now again ready to compete.

Todd is not the type to run away from a challenge as evidenced by her resume that included relieving Stamp Fairtex of her two-sport champion status by claiming the ONE women's atomweight kickboxing strap in February 2020.

Her opponent Rodrigues has been sidelined for nearly three years due to her having her first child after beating Stamp Fairtex for the aforementioned Muay Thai title.

With ONE Championship needing someone to represent the division in her absence, an interim title was instituted and Todd successfully claimed it by beating out promotional newcomer Lara Fernandez in a five-round unanimous decision in July 2022.

For Todd, the unplanned break from action as she recovered from the virus was not for naught as she started to get even more cerebral with her approach to the bout with Rodrigues.

"I think that time has helped me hone some skills that would work against Allycia. But it also allowed me to work more on the creative side of my brain so that when I do get in a certain situation, I can flow from one movement to the next. So, it allows me to move more freely, knowing I have more tools to work with," Todd stated.

Todd is fully aware of what Rodrigues will bring to the fight especially when it comes to situations inside the clinch, noting that she expects that she will be forced into the situation while still being wary of "very good left kicks" that Rodrigues does tend to throw at punch-heavy opponents.

"I always like being in more of like a punching and kicking range. So I'd like to use my footwork to keep myself at that range because I think that's where I excel," she revealed of her game plan.

The Hermosa Beach, California native finally faces Rodrigues in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 8 in Singapore on Saturday, March 25 (Friday, March 24 in the United States).

Weigh-In Results

It is worth noting at this point that one fight on the card almost fell through after featherweight Muay Thai fighter Eddie Abasolo failed to pass the hydration test in three attempts on the evening of Thursday, March 23 (Singapore time).

His opponent Niclas Larsen easily passed hydration and made weight.

The Singapore-based combat sports promotion has since confirmed during the ceremonial weigh-ins that their bout will now be at a catchweight of 158.5lbs.

Below are the full results from the weigh-ins:

• Strawweight Submission Grappling: Tammi Musumeci (123.5lbs) vs. Bianca Basilio (124.5lbs)
• Strawweight Muay Thai: Iman Barlow (125lbs) vs. Ekaterina Vandaryeva (124.5lbs)
• Catchweight (158.5lbs) Muay Thai: Eddie Abasolo (158.5lbs) vs. Niclas Larsen (153.75lbs)
• Strawweight MMA: Keito Yamakita (124.25lbs) vs. Alex Silva (125lbs)
• Catchweight (128lbs) Muay Thai: Aslanbek Zikreev (128lbs) vs. Rui Botelho (128lbs)
• Strawweight Kickboxing: Torepchi Dongak (125lbs) vs. Zhang Peimian (123.75lbs)
• Featherweight MMA: Akbar Abdullaev (154.5lbs) vs. Oh Ho Taek (154.75lbs)
• Atomweight MMA: Itsuki Hirata (114.25lbs) vs. Ham Seo Hee (114.5lbs)
• ONE Atomweight Muay Thai Championship: Janet Todd (114lbs) vs. Allycia Hellen Rodrigues (114.5lbs)
• ONE Flyweight Kickboxing Championship: Danial Williams (134lbs) vs. Superlek Kiatmoo9 (133.5lbs)