‘The Queen’ Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom has been waiting for this moment for far longer than anyone realizes, preparing for Allycia Hellen Rodrigues quietly in the background for years.
The reigning ONE women’s atomweight kickboxing world champion challenges Rodrigues for the latter’s ONE women’s atomweight Muay Thai world title in the headline attraction of The Inner Circle 19 on Friday, June 19.
A win for the Thai sensation inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, would crown her as one of the rare two-sport world champions in the promotion — but the path to this exact moment has been simmering in ‘The Queen’s’ mind for far longer than the official announcement of the contest.
Phetjeeja has been a quiet student of the Phuket Fight Club athlete‘s game since her earliest days in the organization. Every triumph, every dominant performance, every minute of footage that has surfaced has been studied in detail by the Thai sensation.
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Now, finally, the long-awaited showdown is sitting in front of her.
Speaking to ONE Championship ahead of fight night, ‘The Queen’ opened up on the years of preparation that have led to this moment.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t really call it an advantage because I’ve actually been studying her for years. I’ve watched and analyzed pretty much every single one of her fights,” Phetjeeja said.
The Thai sensation further added, “I think the timing is perfect. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, and it seems like Allycia outgrew other options in this division anyway. So I felt like, ‘Okay, it’s finally time for us to settle this in the ring.'”
Phetjeeja’s years of preparation could be the difference in her bid for two-sport world champion status
That kind of long-term scouting is exactly the foundation Phetjeeja needs to take the gold from one of the most dominant world champions in women’s Muay Thai today.
Fighters who walk into world title fights having studied their opponents inside out tend to be the ones who deliver their best work when the lights are at their brightest.
‘The Queen’ has clearly built up the kind of deep knowledge that gives her every chance of executing her game plan flawlessly. Moreover, each of her wins in ‘The Art of Eight Limbs’ on the global stage of ONE Championship have come inside the distance.
The 24-year-old Thai hasn’t tasted defeat in the promotion, and as long as she continues to do what she does best come fight night, combat sports enthusiasts could be staring at a new two-sport ONE world champion once the dust settles at The Inner Circle 19.
June 19 inside Lumpinee Stadium could very well be the night Phetjeeja makes history. The complete card will be available exclusively to subscribers at live.onefc.com.
Edited by Aziel Karthak