It’s hard to balance being a World Champion and a mum. But at ONE Fight Night 8, Allycia Hellen Rodrigues showed it is achievable with the right amount of dedication, discipline, and heart. The ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion returned to action last Friday after taking an extended break to focus on starting a family.

Though there were concerns over her match fitness and ring rust ahead of her World Title unification bout with interim queen Janet “JT” Todd, Rodrigues showed no signs of any of it when they squared off.

Allycia Helen Rodrigues obeyed her cornermen for the victory and revealed her inspiration

The mom-champ fought bravely inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium, trading strike for strike with the American dynamo, and in the end, her impressive showing was enough to earn a unanimous decision win. Speaking on her World Title-unifying victory, Rodrigues said, “I feel amazing. I have a lot of support from my family and my team. I knew if I work hard, I can come back and keep my belt with me.”

“I knew she was going to start strong and fast. I just kept calm, and I listened to my corner. Listening to my corner helped me get the victory too.”

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Her comeback performance will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for many fighters in the years to come, but the Phuket Fight Club representative cited a role model of her own when it came to preparing for her fight with Todd – ONE Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.

Allycia Rodrigues was tracing the footsteps of her idol perfectly

Lee took a three-year break to give birth and raise her daughter, Ava Marie, with fellow MMA fighter Bruno Pucci. She then returned to defend her atomweight gold against Stamp Fairtex at ONE X in March last year.

Many debated how she would perform against the Thai megastar, but the Singaporean-American silenced all critics by scoring a dominant submission win over Stamp in the second round. With the victory, Lee became the first mom-champ in ONE Championship. Now, Rodrigues has followed suit.

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She said of Lee, “You know how hard it is to come back from that situation? But I am inspired by Angela Lee. I saw the way she came back and how she kept the belt with her. I wanted to do the same and inspire people the way Angela inspired me.”