Allycia Hellen Rodrigues crushes Johanna Persson to continue ONE atomweight championship reign
Brazil's Allycia Hellen Rodrigues continued her dominant championship reign when she took out Sweden's Johanna Persson with a devastating left hook knockout to retain the ONE atomweight Muay Thai world title; Ireland's Stephen Korodi lost bantamweight Muay Thai battle with Vladimir Kuzmin
Saturday 12 July 2025 10:56, UK
Allycia Hellen Rodrigues ushered in the fifth year of her historic ONE atomweight Muay Thai world championship reign in highlight-reel fashion when she took out Johanna Persson.
Just four months after she knocked out London's Marie McManamon, the Brazilian champion returned in the main event of ONE Fight Night 33 against Sweden's Persson before a capacity crowd in Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium.
Persson entered the high-stakes contest on a seven-fight winning streak capped by a WBC Muay Thai world title victory. She had momentum and the utmost confidence that she could dethrone the longtime champion.
But like the rest of Rodrigues' other challengers, the Swede learned why the champion has dominated the atomweight Muay Thai division for so long.
The Brazilian began the contest by picking away at the challenger from range with jabs, straight kicks and the occasional roundhouse. Persson remained calm as she tried to close the distance, mixing in her jab-cross combinations with kicks to the legs and body. There were even a few instances when she stepped in with her knee strikes and initiated the clinch.
Everything intensified in the second round. The 30-year-old Swedish challenger launched knees to the body and a few elbows to the head.
But by the midway point of the stanza, the tide had turned. Rodrigues blocked many of her opponent's attacks, switched levels to land stiff punches and willingly stepped into close quarters to fire off devastating knee strikes of her own.
It all came to a boil in the third frame. With a burst of energy, Persson went on the front foot with her elbows and punches, but it was short lived. The Brazilian created some space and, nearly 30 seconds into the round, she lunged forward with a right to the body and then sprang up with a heavy left hook to her foe's jaw that instantly dropped her.
Persson, wearing the damage on her face, immediately answered referee Olivier Coste's eight-count and wanted to continue. But several seconds later, Rodrigues backed her toward the ropes, threw another right to the body, and then smacked her with another massive left hook that planted her on the canvas. The referee quickly stepped in to wave off the fight, extending the titleholder's historic reign.
With the victory, Rodrigues moved her professional record to 35-7 and earned another $50,000 performance bonus.
After stringing together a five-bout winning streak, No 3 ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender Shadow Singha Mawynn was primed to have a battle with Algeria's Mohamed Younes Rabah, Shadow dodged his rival's jab-cross and responded with a short overhand right that floored him.
However, less than 15 seconds into the second frame, as Shadow reached for his opponent's left arm in an effort to pull it down and launch another overhand right, his fingers accidentally poked Rabah in the eye.
Unfortunately, it affected the Algerian's vision, and following an examination from the ringside doctor, it was clear he couldn't open his eye. As a result, the bout was called off and declared a no contest.
Another breathtaking match was the bantamweight Muay Thai firefight between hard-hitting Vladimir Kuzmin and Romania-born Irish standout Stefan Korodi.
It was a true clash of styles. Kuzmin was lighter on his feet, utilized more fluid movement, and focused on counter-striking with his boxing and kicks. Korodi, with his more traditional Muay Thai style, tried to slow him down and stepped in with powerful kicks and punches.
The two also punished one another with knees in the clinch. Ultimately, Kuzmin was able to land more damage on his opposite number, including some beautiful spinning elbows, and his effective distance management and strikes from range paved the way for a unanimous decision victory.
