Allycia Hellen Rodrigues plans to beat Janet Todd with her improved boxing

It has been two and a half years since Allycia Hellen Rodrigues stepped inside the Circle. That streak will come to a close when the reigning ONE atomweight Muay Thai world champion makes her long-awaited return for a showdown with one of the most dangerous women on the planet.

On March 24, Rodrigues will attempt to reestablish herself as the queen of atomweight Muay Thai against the promotion’s interim titleholder of the division, Janet Todd. The two female warriors will square off inside the familiar confines of the Singapore Indoor Stadium at ONE Fight Night 8 on Prime Video.

The pair were previously scheduled for a title unification bout in December, but a bout with COVID-19 forced Todd to withdraw. Rodrigues used the extra time to her advantage, honing her boxing skills in anticipation of the inevitable showdown.

“I’ve also been working a lot on my boxing,” Rodrigues said in an interview with ONE Championship. “This postponement of the fight helped me to have more time to improve my boxing even more. I’ve been training every day since the postponement of the fight.”

Allycia Hellen Rodrigues originally captured the atomweight world title by defeating fan-favorite Stamp Fairtex at ONE: A New Breed in 2020. The Phuket Fight Club product has since been on the sidelines following the birth of her son.

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Allycia Hellen Rodrigues is fighting not only for herself but for her son

After defeating former two-sport world champion Stamp Fairtex, it looked like Allycia Hellen Rodrigues was at the start of a long and dominant run inside the Circle. However, Rodrigues was thrown a bit of a curveball when she became pregnant with her son shortly after her ONE world title win.

Knowing the pregnancy would result in a lengthy layoff, the Brazilian striker never once thought it would be the end of her time in combat sports. If anything, it inspired Allycia Hellen Rodrigues to continue training and competing as she was no longer fighting for herself anymore.

“I never thought it would be the end because I’ve seen several fighters become mothers, and they continued their careers, so I knew it would never be a problem for me either,” Rodrigues said. “Angela Lee was also pregnant. She returned and continued to be the World Champion. It changes nothing. It’s just a break from work.

“Now I’m stronger because I fight for myself and for my son. I want him to be proud of me. Whenever I look at him, I have a lot of strength to go even further. I know what I’m doing will be very worthwhile for us and for our future.”