Allycia Hellen Rodrigues Confident Vs. Stamp: ‘I’ll Get This Belt’
Allycia Hellen Rodrigues will make her ONE Championship debut this Friday, 28 August, and she’s hoping to end the night as the new queen of the atomweight Muay Thai division.
To make that dream a reality, the Brazilian striker will need to dethrone reigning ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Stamp Fairtex at ONE: A NEW BREED in Bangkok, Thailand.
It will be no easy task, but the promotional newcomer believes she is up for it.
“I am very confident for this fight,” Rodrigues says.
“It will be a tough fight against a very experienced opponent, but I will go in there very prepared. Every day, I have done my best in training. It’s a great opportunity, and I don’t want to waste it. I’m going to win this belt.”
The 22-year-old Ceará, Brazil, native has been waiting six years for this moment.
In 2014, she followed in her older sister’s footsteps and began training Muay Thai. The more she practiced, the more she fell in love with “the art of eight limbs.”
After just three months of training, the young prodigy was ready to enter the ring.
“My professor in Brazil asked me if I wanted to fight, and I said yes. I wanted to test myself and know what it was like to compete,” she recalls.
“I ended up fighting, and since then, I didn’t want to stop fighting. I just wanted to train to be able to fight again.”
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Under the guidance of her trainer, Alexandre Johnson, Rodrigues represented the Black Thai team and hit the ground running.
She quickly became the top-ranked female Muay Thai practitioner in Brazil and captured six titles, including the Super Girls Championship in the under-50 kilograms weight category.
However, by 2018, Rodrigues wasn’t receiving enough fights in South America to quench her thirst for Muay Thai. She wanted to live and breathe the sport, so she left home and moved to its birthplace.
“I made this decision because, in Brazil, I was not getting many opportunities. I was fighting only once a year and was getting out of action,” she says.
“I wanted to build my story. I wanted to grow up in the fight world, so I decided to come to Thailand to gain more experience, fight against the best fighters, and build my story.”
For the next chapter of that story, Rodrigues joined Phuket Fight Club, where she continued to sharpen her techniques while making her presence felt on the local scene.
In March 2019, the Brazilian participated in a four-woman tournament at the Nai Khanom Tom festival in Ayutthaya. There, she defeated Dangkongfah Jaosuanoy Muaythai in the semifinals and then Thananchanok Kaewsamrit in the final to become the Ayutthaya Miracle Champion.
Eventually, Rodrigues built up her record to an impressive 30-5, leading her to seek even greater heights. With that, she joined the world’s largest martial arts organization and will challenge Stamp for the richest prize in the sport – the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title.
Rodrigues is quite familiar with the Thai superstar. In fact, she believes they share a similar fighting style and that she knows what to expect this Friday.
“I’ve watched some of Stamp’s fights in ONE, and I know she’s an aggressive and strong fighter. She likes to kick a lot and punch, and when she gets in the clinch, she likes to throw her knee,” the challenger says.
“I have to protect myself well because it will be a fight with small gloves. I need to block her kicks, I can’t let her impose her game plan, and I need to make her uncomfortable in the fight.”
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In order to do so, Rodrigues plans to put Stamp on the back foot and constantly attack the Fairtex representative with her best weapons – front kicks, low kicks, punches, and elbows.
“My strategy is to pressure her the entire time,” Rodrigues says.
“I will try to impose my game plan, walk forward, press on her without letting her breathe, and make her tired. That’s what we’re working on in training [camp]. I’ll put the pressure on her.”
Rodrigues is well aware that it will be difficult to unseat the divisional queen. At the same time, she feels ready for the potential life-changing moment in front of her.
“I am very happy with this opportunity. It’s a big step in my career,” the Brazilian says.
“I want to be famous. I want to be the champion. I want to show what I’m capable of to everyone – to show that I can get there and that I can be among the best and compete with the best fighters.
“I know it won’t be an easy fight. Stamp is a great fighter, and she has defended her belt several times. But I am very confident. I’m very prepared for this fight. I’m going to follow my game plan and put pressure on her, and I’m sure I’ll get this belt.”
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