Phetjeeja believes she can be on par with the best in the division despite ‘difficult path’

Rising ONE Championship star Phetjeeja believes that in time she will be on par with the top fighters in her division, notwithstanding the challenges she expects along the way.

‘The Queen’ is set to make her ONE main roster debut on July 14 at ONE Fight Night 12 on Prime Video at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

The Venum Training Camp affiliate will go up against Lara Fernandez of Spain in an atomweight Muay Thai clash. The event is available for free to Prime Video subscribers in North America.

21-year-old Phetjeeja is coming off two grand performances in the ONE Friday Fights series earlier this year, where she finished her opponents by technical knockout on both occasions. The twin wins earned her a $100,000 contract from ONE Championship, paving the way for her match at ONE Fight Night 12.

While she is happy and excited over the career gains she has had of late, Phetjeeja knows that there is still work that needs to be done and challenges to weave herself through.

She told ONE Championship in an interview:

“I need to level myself up to be better and better. I believe that if I train hard enough, I have a chance to be on par with all of the other fighters in the division. But this will definitely be a difficult path for me.”

At ONE Fight Night 12, looking to foil the Thai star’s push is 26-year-old Lara Fernandez.

The Cebolla native is coming off her maiden victory in ONE Championship. She took on Thai Dangkongfah Banchamek last December in Manila and came away with a split decision victory.

Lara Fernandez made her promotional debut in July last year, disputing the ONE interim atomweight Muay Thai world title against American Janet Todd. She fell short, though, losing by unanimous decision.

Both Phetjeeja and Fernandez are looking to pile the wins to earn consideration for a showdown against undisputed ONE atomweight Muay Thai world champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues of Brazil.