After a career spanning over 15 years, ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion Janet Todd will make the final walk of her combat sports career at ONE Fight Night 20 this weekend.
The American striking star will defend her crown against interim titleholder Phetjeeja in the main event of the all-female spectacle this Saturday, 9th March, live from the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and then hang up the gloves for good, as per an announcement this week.
“I've thought about it for a while. The other aspect of what I want in my life is to start a family, and I'm getting older. Women aren't fortunate enough to have kids in their 40s. Maybe some are, but I want that part of my life as well,” Todd divulged.
“I felt like ONE Championship has given me such a great opportunity to achieve something that I never thought I could achieve before, and I've got to do so many things in such a short period of time and experience so much and meet so many lifelong friends, but I think I'm ready to move on to the next chapter after this fight.”
“JT’s” career has seen her rise to one of the most ferocious female strikers in the world.
She decimated talent around the world before arriving in ONE Championship in 2019, winning every amateur Muay Thai title available before stepping up to the International Amateur Muay Thai Federation, where she won the Super Flyweight World Championship and 115-pound championship.
More accomplishments followed as she moved on to bigger stages, including winning the 112-pound 2017 US Muay Thai Open.
Todd’s skill set threw her from the frying pan into the fire immediately after joining the world’s largest martial arts organization, as her promotional debut saw her challenge Stamp Fairtex for the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS.
After achieving so much success on her road to ONE, “JT” was brought back to earth that evening. Though she pushed the Thai megastar all the way to the final bell, she ultimately fell to a unanimous decision loss.
That fight would prove to be a call to greatness, however, and Todd wouldn’t taste defeat for another four years as a result.
In her next seven bouts, the American icon toppled all adversaries. Most importantly, she gained redemption against Stamp when she challenged her for the atomweight kickboxing crown at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE in 2020. That split-decision win cemented Todd as a force in ONE, but she wasn’t finished there.
Showing impeccable ability to switch between sports, the Boxing Works standout worked her way up to a battle for the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title against Lara Fernandez at ONE 159 in July 2022.
She claimed the strap with a dominant performance over the Spaniard, putting her on track for two-sport glory. All that was left was a World Title unification bout with divisional queen Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, which went down last March at ONE Fight Night 8.
Unfortunately, the atomweight Muay Thai throne alluded Todd once again, as her Brazilian foe returned from her time away to cement her reign atop the stacked weight bracket.
But, as she has always done, the 38-year-old California native took the loss in her stride, and now she’s ready to reaffirm her position in the atomweight kickboxing realm.
Her opponent, Phetjeeja, is on an unbeaten run in ONE Championship, and, at 16 years younger than Todd, she represents the next generation of female striking superstars.
But fans can bet the bank that “JT” will go out in a blaze of glory as she attempts to defend her crown, so no one should blink when their main event tie kicks off at ONE Fight Night 20 this weekend.
