ONE Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues will put her crown on the line for the fourth time when she faces WBC Muay Thai World Champion Johanna Persson of Sweden in the ONE Fight Night 33 headliner on 12 July.
The Brazilian's originally scheduled opponent, Israeli striker Shir Cohen, was forced to withdraw from their 8 June bout at ONE Fight Night 32 due to injury.
Rather than viewing the delay as a setback, Rodrigues has embraced the extended preparation time.
The 27-year-old from Fortaleza has used the additional weeks to study her new opponent extensively, identifying key areas where she can exploit Persson's style.
"I believe her clinch game is a strong point, and I noticed she also throws elbows and likes to apply pressure during the fight," Rodrigues said. "I saw in some videos that her guard is quite open. I'll definitely use my boxing and kicks to capitalise on that."
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The champion's traditional Thai style combines devastating right roundhouse kicks with sharp elbow strikes that have made her one of the most feared finishers in the division.
Far from being disrupted by the opponent change, Rodrigues believes the extended training period has only made her more dangerous.
"It didn't affect me at all. In fact, I'm going in even more prepared," she said. "Two back-to-back training camps – my body is firing on all cylinders. My mindset and focus are always the same. It's my reign on the line, so I will always give my all."
The Phuket Fight Club representative has been visualising victory throughout her preparation, maintaining the same championship mentality that saw her dethrone Stamp Fairtex and unify the division against Janet Todd.
"I really like to visualise my arm being raised. I work hard in every training camp, and this is the first time I've done two back-to-back camps with no rest," Rodrigues said. "I'm going in to get another knockout."
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