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If you want to see what a perfect headkick looks like, watch ONE atomweight kickboxing and interim atomweight Muay Thai world champion Janet Todd's iconic one against Ekaterina Vandaryeva. Hailing from Lawndale, CA, the highly-touted Todd broke into ONE Championship like a bull in a China shop.
The American striking specialist won the promotion's atomweight kickboxing belt a year into her tenure in the promotion.
What got Janet Todd her first world title shot was the stunning knockout of Ekaterina Vandaryeva back in 2019. Fighting under Muay Thai rules, the highly technical Todd used a series of close-range attacks to deal with the height and reach advantage of Vandaryeva. Todd peppered her Belarusian opponent with knees in the clinch, low kicks and mid kicks.
In the final minute of the second round, Todd set up with a jab and then went high as Vandaryeva was expecting a low or mid kick. 'JT' connected with a thunderous head kick that sounded like a baseball bat hitting a tree. What resulted was the disturbing sight of a concussed Vanderyeva dizzingly walking away before falling to the floor.
Watch the full fight here:
Janet Todd to face Allycia Hellen Rodrigues in world title unification bout at ONE Fight Night 8
After her KO of Vandaryeva, Todd went on to beat Stamp Fairtex to win the ONE atomweight kickboxing world title. After two more wins, she then received a shot at the interim ONE atomweight Muay Thai world title against promotional newcomer, Lara Fernandez.
After 'JT' won that bout, it set up a massive unification bout with the reigning ONE atomweight Muay Thai queen, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues. This will be Todd's first attempt at being an undisputed world champion in two different sports.
The two will lock horns for the belt at ONE Fight Night 8 on March 24. Rodrigues hasn’t stepped inside the Circle in over two years since focusing on her pregnancy in 2021. She was last in action against Stamp Fairtex in 2020, where she won the belt via a majority decision. ONE Championship put together an interim Muay Thai world title bout in the meantime, which Janet Todd soundly won.
ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced the massive world title clash at the ONE Fight Night 6 media presser. Notably, the pair of world champions were originally scheduled to fight late last year, but Janet Todd had to pull out due to COVID-19 protocols. With both competitors cleared and healthy to compete, we can finally have a conclusion in this long-standing saga for the belt.
