Phetjeeja, The Girl Who Fought Boys, Is Now Coming for Rodrigues’ Muay Thai Belt
ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom has opened up about a childhood fighting career that most professional athletes could never imagine.
The 24-year-old Thai sensation looks to become a two-sport ONE World Champion when she faces ONE Women's Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues at The Inner Circle on Friday, June 19, streaming exclusively on live.onefc.com.
Introduced to Muay Thai by her father, Phetjeeja began competing at the age of 6 in a time and place where there were very few female opponents competing in her weight class.
By the time she was around 10 years old, she had accumulated more than 100 fights, 70 of which were against boys. She became a WMC Muay Thai World Champion at 14, and her current striking record of 210-6 tells the story of what that foundation produced.
Phetjeeja Started Her Career Fighting Boys at Age 6
The circumstances of Phetjeeja's early fighting life were shaped entirely by necessity. With no female fighters available at her weight in the Thai provinces, she had no choice but to compete against boys from the very beginning.
"I started fighting when I was 6 years old. I fought male fighters from my very first fight because there were no female fighters in my weight range. So, I started off fighting boys," Phetjeeja recalled.
Her very first fight earned her 400 Thai Baht, roughly US$13, against a male opponent. That debut planted the seed of a career that now spans more than 210 professional fights across both Muay Thai and kickboxing, an 8-0 ONE Championship record, and the ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Championship.
'The Queen' Won Twice in a Single Day Against Male Fighters
The volume and nature of Phetjeeja's early competition went far beyond the occasional bout against a male opponent. By the time she was around 10 years old, she was competing in back-to-back bouts against boys in the same day.
"I kept winning. I fought male fighters in the provinces based on weight comparison. Sometimes, I fought twice in one day against male fighters. One fight would be during the day, and another would be at night," she explained.
The physical and mental demands of that upbringing shaped Phetjeeja into one of the most complete female strikers in the world. Her 210-6 career record, built across both Muay Thai and kickboxing with 69 finishes.
Phetjeeja Reveals Childhood Rivalry With ONE's Songchainoi
Phetjeeja's story takes an unexpected turn when she reflects on one of her early rivals. Long before either fighter appeared under the ONE Championship banner, Phetjeeja and current ONE Championship fighter Songchainoi Kiatsongrit crossed paths multiple times in the Thai provinces, producing a childhood rivalry that both carried into their professional careers.
"I fought Songchainoi three times. I beat him twice, and he beat me once. Then I joined ONE Championship. I saw him there too, and I was really excited. It felt like a reunion with a childhood friend," she declared.
On June 19, Phetjeeja steps into the biggest fight of her career against a Brazilian knockout artist. A victory over Rodrigues would make "The Queen" a two-sport ONE World Champion and confirm that the girl who once fought boys twice in a day has grown into the finest female atomweight striker on the planet.
Watch The Inner Circle live on Thursday, June 19, exclusively at live.onefc.com.
