ONE Championship's special all-female martial arts event celebrated international Women's Day; nine fights were on the card as Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom beat Janet Todd who made her final walk in her storied career
Saturday 9 March 2024 14:27, UK
'The Queen' Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom entered ONE Fight Night 20's main event showdown with the interim title, but she left with the undisputed ONE Women's Atomweight Kickboxing World Championship.
At ONE Championship's special all-female martial arts event to celebrate International Women's Day, the 22-year-old phenom claimed a unanimous decision victory to unify the gold, and send her adoring home crowd into raptures at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Phetjeeja consistently found a home for her clubbing right hand, whereas Janet Todd stayed on the move and looked to mix up her strikes.
The American engaged with her rival all throughout the five-round battle, but the Thai star's accurate and powerful punches proved to be the difference in the end.
A knockdown in the final stanza was the exclamation point in Phetjeeja's victory, which moved her professional record to 208-6, maintaining her perfect 6-0 slate in the promotion, and cemented her status as the undisputed queen of the atomweight kickboxing division.
Todd gave an emotional farewell to the crowd and placed her gloves on the canvas, signalling her retirement from competition.
The American striker closes this chapter of her life with a 39-13 professional record, and as a former ONE Interim Women's Atomweight Muay Thai world champion and the longest-reigning ONE Women's Atomweight Kickboxing world champion in history.
In the co-main event, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues successfully defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Muay Thai world title with a clinical five-round performance against Cristina Morales.
The first world title clash between mum-fighters did not disappoint, as both athletes put on an action-packed fight.
Rodrigues was measured in the early going, but she soon ramped up the pressure with her dominance in the clinch, which enabled her to land a series of knees to the Spanish challenger's body.
The 25-year-old Brazilian's persistent attack paid off down the stretch, and she landed telling punches and kicks to the body in the championship rounds to seal an eventual unanimous-decision victory. The win moved her record to 33-7.
In her post-fight interview, Rodrigues called for a second tussle with three-sport queen Stamp Fairtex. The two initially met in August 2020, with the Brazilian earning a majority decision win in her promotional debut to dethrone the Thai megastar of the ONE Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship.
ONE Women's Atomweight Kickboxing World Championship Unification: Phetjeeja (ic) defeated Janet Todd (c) via unanimous decision
ONE Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Championship: Allycia Hellen Rodrigues (c) defeated Cristina Morales via unanimous decision
Catchweight (130lb) Muay Thai: Jackie Buntan defeated Martine Michieletto via unanimous decision
Catchweight (120lb) MMA: Chihiro Sawada defeated Jihin Radzuan via unanimous decision
Strawweight Muay Thai: Ekaterina Vandaryeva defeated Martyna Kierczynska via unanimous decision
Catchweight (118.5lb) Muay Thai: Yu Yau Pui defeated Lara Fernandez via unanimous decision
Atomweight MMA: Noelle Grandjean defeated Victoria Souza via unanimous decision
Atomweight Submission Grappling: Mayssa Bastos defeated Kanae Yamada via unanimous decision
Atomweight Muay Thai: Shir Cohen defeated Teodora Kirilova via TKO (punches) Round 2, 2:27
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