Janet Todd inspired by her friend to pursue professional fighting career

As a reigning two-sport ONE world champion, Janet Todd has established herself as one of the best female fighters in the world. ‘JT’ will have the opportunity to solidify that claim when she attempts to unify her interim atomweight Muay Thai title with the returning queen of the division, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues.

With the biggest fight of her career just days away, Todd took a moment to speak with Calf Kick Sports to share the story of how she first got into fighting. She said:

“There was this girl, Gerry. She’s still one of my closest friends. I saw her train and have her first amateur fight and TKO a girl with these beautiful piercing knees. I was like, yeah, I want to do that too.”

Fast forward to years later and Janet Todd now finds herself as the undisputed ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion. She also holds the ONE interim atomweight Muay Thai world title following a unanimous decision victory over Lara Fernandez at ONE 159 in July. ‘JT’ will attempt to unify that with the world title currently held by Rodrigues to determine the undisputed queen of the division.

Rodrigues famously defeated fan favorite Stamp Fairtex in 2020 to capture the crown. However, she has since been on the shelf following her pregnancy and the birth of her child. More than two years later, she returns to reestablish herself as the ruler of the ONE atomweight Muay Thai division.

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Janet Todd spoke about managing her career as an engineer while being a world champion

For many fighters, combat sports are their career. But one job just isn’t enough for Janet Todd. In addition to being a two-sport world champion and one of the best female fighters in the world, ‘JT’ has a keen interest in engineering. She believes maintaining both allows her to utilize different ways of thinking and problem-solving:

“It works different parts of my brain, I think. With engineering, I have to be logical, double-check everything, and doubt everything I do so that I can make sure that I do it right. Versus martial arts, where I have to go with my instincts. As soon as I doubt myself, that’s where things go downhill."

Todd continued, saying:

“But the one thing that brings everything together is the creativity that we get to express in engineering and martial arts. That’s what I’m drawn to. Obviously, I can’t do this without the support of my family and my team. Without them, there’s no way.”