London’s Marie McManamon fell short in her bid to make history, as she was defeated by Brazil’s Allycia Hellen Rodrigues in a ONE Championship world title fight. McManamon, 34, took on the challenge of fighting for the Atomweight Muay Thai title with just two weeks’ notice, aiming to become the first British woman to capture ONE Championship gold.
However, Rodrigues proved too dominant, using a relentless combination of roundhouse kicks, sharp elbows, powerful boxing, and knees to claim a TKO victory at the end of the fourth round.
The opening round saw both fighters exchanging kicks and teeps in the center of the ring. McManamon, eager to seize the opportunity, became more aggressive in the second, landing some body kicks and head shots. But Rodrigues soon shifted the momentum, landing powerful jabs, left hooks, and crosses to McManamon’s head and torso.
By the third round, Rodrigues increased her pace, and a head kick late in the round wobbled McManamon. A barrage of punches, capped by a left hook, dropped her, though she managed to rise after taking an eight-count.
In the fourth, McManamon stayed resilient, exchanging strikes with Rodrigues, but the Brazilian fighter delivered a series of punishing knees to the body and a sustained attack against the ropes, leading to the referee stopping the fight between rounds.
