Allycia Hellen Rodrigues turns her focus on defending atomweight gold: “We never ran away from the war”

ONE atomweight Muay Thai queen Allycia Hellen Rodrigues has remained gracious in defeat.

The Brazilian mom-champ put on one heck of a gritty performance at last Friday’s co-main event at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video. Despite suffering a technical knockout against defending strawweight champ Smilla Sundell, there’s no sign of bitterness in her heart.

This week, Rodrigues took to her Instagram account to thank her fans and remind them that her zeal for excellence and glory hasn’t changed in spite of her loss.

“Thank you all for the support, we knew it would be a tough fight but we never ran away from the war, now to come back stronger and focus on defending my belt. Thank you my God for everything always.”

Going into the bout, Rodrigues looked physically strong and powerful from our audiences’ standpoint. During the face-offs, she was lauded by fans online for her intensity as she glared at her taller opponent.

Unsurprisingly, the Brazilian champ transferred some of that inner fearlessness into the bout. She was aggressive from the onset, throwing big body combinations and left hooks to hurt Sundell. But, by the second round, she was beginning to gas out, although she did her best to stay on top of Sundell.

The Swedish star entered the second round with a different game plan. She strategically stifled Rodrigues’ power by pressuring her against the cage with body strikes and straight punches.

The punishment continued into the third round, and by then, Rodrigues looked the worse for wear. She had no other option but to stop engaging. The referee stepped in and called the fight at 2:58 minutes in the third round, handing Rodrigues her first loss in ONE Championship.

Now, Rodrigues’ next step is to go back to her division, take some time off, and then defend her atomweight Muay Thai world title.