“To win this championship would mean a lot to me” – Cristina Morales says hoisting ONE gold would be "a dream come true"

Cristina Morales is no stranger to lifting gold, but she’s yet to get her hands on the biggest prize possible.

The Spanish standout has that chance when she challenges Allycia Hellen Rodrigues for the ONE atomweight Muay Thai world title at ONE Fight Night 20 on Friday, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Ahead of the biggest fight of her career, Morales said lifting a ONE world title would solidify her career in more ways than one.

Cristina Morales said in an interview with ONE Championship:

“To win this championship would mean a lot to me, my family, and my country. Achieve something I have dreamed of all my life. It is the reason training is hard every day. It would be a dream come true.”

The 30-year-old is a former ISKA atomweight K-1 and Enfusion world champion before she joined ONE Championship in 2021.

Although she lost her promotional debut against the legendary Anissa Meksen, Morales bounced back in emphatic fashion in her next assignment.

Morales dismantled Thai star Anna ‘Supergirl’ Jaroonsak for the first-round technical knockout at ONE Fight Night 16 to book her world title shot against Rodrigues on International Women’s Day.

ONE Fight Night 20 is an all-female card and is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Cristina Morales admits being inspired by Ilia Topuria’s world title win

Spain is no stranger to sporting greatness.

The country’s national football team La Furia Roja won two consecutive UEFA European Championships and the Fifa World Cup from 2008 to 2012 and has been a global powerhouse since.

Ilia Topuria, meanwhile, bannered the country in MMA when he beat Alexander Volkanovski for the UFC featherweight world title.

Inspired by her compatriot, Cristina Morales said she wants to bring another belt to her country after ONE Fight Night 20.

In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Morales said:

“[Ilia] Topuria winning that belt was like a boost for the Spanish people and the Spanish fighters, and I want to do the same on the female side. I want to be the first one to take a big belt and bring it home.”