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Allycia Hellen Rodrigues has her sights set on a new challenge following her spectacular third-round knockout victory over Johanna Persson at ONE Fight Night 33.
The 27-year-old Brazilian retained her ONE women's atomweight Muay Thai world title with a devastating left hook that dropped the Swedish challenger at 59 seconds of the third round last Friday inside the Lumpinee Stadium.
"My focus is to train in MMA, and next year to start in MMA. We're going to try to defend our belt if everything works well. But the final focus now is to go to MMA," Allycia Hellen Rodrigues told reporters during her post-fight interview in Bangkok, Thailand.
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The mum-champ's bold declaration signals her intention to follow in the footsteps of other successful strikers who have made the transition to mixed martial arts within ONE Championship.
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Her fourth successful title defense not only earned her another US$50,000 performance bonus but also provided the perfect platform to announce her ambitious crossover plans.
Whether or not the Brazilian striking wizard's finishing ability and championship experience in Muay Thai could translate to the all-encompassing discipline remains to be seen, though.
However, with her finishing instincts and confidence at their peak, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues should have what it takes to embark on the next chapter of her already illustrious career.
Allycia Hellen Rodrigues details her match-winning moment vs. Persson
Though she admits Johanna Persson's immense forward pressure prevented her from shifting into gear in the earlier rounds, Rodrigues used those earlier exchanges to read how she could counter the challenger's moves.
In round two, despite being under pressure, the Brazilian striking queen still did not choose to throw caution to the wind.
Instead, she waited for the moment to pick her shots. When she had Persson figured, it was all about connecting with the right punch to claim another victory.
"We knew because she went down really badly, and she started to walk back after the knockdown. So we knew we just needed to pick the shots and finish the fight," Rodrigues shared during the same post-fight press conference.
Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can access the complete ONE Fight Night 33 replay at their convenience for free.
