The injuries that delayed the most anticipated women’s striking matchup in recent memory did not break Allycia Hellen Rodrigues. They rebuilt her. The ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion arrives at her fifth title defence in better shape than she was when this fight was first scheduled, and she intends to prove it on Friday.

Rodrigues defends her title against ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom in the main event of The Inner Circle 19, streaming live for members from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 19. The bout was originally booked for ONE Fight Night 41 in March before injuries to both athletes forced a postponement.

Rodrigues suffered inflammation in both legs that prevented her from running or kicking, leaving her no choice but to step back for a month and a half of recovery.

“I ended up having inflammation in both of my legs, which was preventing me from running, kicking, or doing anything that created impact,” she said.

“I had to take about a month and a half off, along with medication and physical therapy, to recover. I believe it was caused by training itself.”

The delay, frustrating as it was, gave the Brazilian 28-year-old something she rarely gets: time to rest, reset, and return with a fuller team around her. She enters this camp with greater confidence than the first, and she believes she holds the decisive edge where it counts most.

“I was already feeling very good during the first training camp, but now I feel even better and more prepared. I also have my entire team with me now,” she said.

“In my last two fights, I got good finishes, but I feel much more complete than her in Muay Thai, especially in the clinch game.”

Rodrigues has studied Phetjeeja’s tendencies carefully. The kickboxing champion’s hand speed and combinations are a known danger, but the Brazilian champion has been sharpening her own boxing in response. She also notes that Phetjeeja’s record in full Muay Thai provides limited footage to work from.

“The truth is, we still haven’t really seen much of her in Muay Thai, because the only fights of hers that lasted longer were in kickboxing,” she said.

“We know she is very good at boxing. I’ve been training boxing for quite some time as well, and I’ve been improving and gaining a lot of confidence in my hands.”

Beyond the title defence, Rodrigues has her eyes on what comes next. A successful fifth defence would close out a remarkable chapter of her career and open the door to mixed martial arts. Win on Friday, and she plans to return to MMA training with a debut in mind before the end of the year.

“After this fight, my focus will return to MMA. I believe my next fight will be my MMA debut. I’m very excited for this new journey as well,” she said.

“I’ll go back to MMA training, and I hope to make my debut by the end of the year. I’m not in a hurry to fight the best right away. I want to gain experience with each fight until I feel ready.”

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