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EspañolWhile the world’s greatest winter athletes were chasing gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, WBC Muay Thai World Champion Johanna Persson was watching and feeling right at home.
Long before she was throwing elbows inside the squared circle, she was carving through mountain trails on skis, a pastime that stretches back more than 20 years to a childhood cabin in the Swedish mountains.
But there won’t be any snow on the ground when Persson enters Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium for her atomweight Muay Thai battle against Selina “Teep Queen” Flores at ONE Fight Night 41: Rodrigues vs. Phetjeeja on Prime Video, which goes down live in U.S. primetime on Friday, March 13.
Away from the bright lights of the global stage, Persson’s happiest moments are found somewhere far quieter – out in the snow, gliding through the kind of Scandinavian terrain that most people only see in postcards.
Cross-country skiing is her absolute favorite. It’s the event she followed most closely as Sweden’s athletes dominated the slopes in Italy, with Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson leading a golden charge that made the entire nation proud.
For the Gavle native, that national pride runs deeper than most. She has been part of that winter sports culture since she could barely reach the ski poles:
“I love to ski. I’d consider both as one of my favorite pastimes – cross-country skiing and snowboarding.”
The roots go all the way back to when she was 4 years old, way before she ever strapped on a pair of gloves or even learned how to kick a soccer ball on the field.
It all began with weekend trips with her parents and older sibling, and she loved the simple freedom of being in the snow.
In the words of the former ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title challenger, it was childhood bliss:
“I started this first [before Muay Thai and even soccer]. It all started because my family had a place, a cabin, in the mountains. So, since I was a kid, I have been doing it. I used to go there all the time, and we’d just snowboard or ski, whichever one we felt like doing on that day.”
Cross-country skiing, for the uninitiated, is as flexible as it is demanding. Like running, athletes can choose their distance – from short, scenic trails to grueling multi-hour expeditions across vast stretches of snow.
At the Winter Olympics, the showcase event stretches to 50 kilometers. Persson keeps her outings a little more modest but no less meaningful.
She told onefc.com:
“I’m at my happiest while I do it because you just get to be in the snow, enjoying the view and soaking up that entire moment. It’s special.”
Snow Days, Fight Nights
There was never a plan for Johanna Persson to take skiing or snowboarding any further, however.
It was, and has always been, a source of uncomplicated joy in a life that has since become defined by relentless professional pursuit in a completely different and demanding realm.
The 31-year-old reflected:
“I’ve never [thought of making it a profession]. I just did it for fun as a hobby. It was just, and always has been, an occasional thing.”
Keeping those two worlds separate – the competitive and the carefree – has always come naturally to Persson.
The same woman who claimed the WBC Muay Thai World Championship in Scotland and then challenged for the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title in her promotional debut in July 2025 still finds her deepest peace on a quiet mountain trail with nothing but snow and the sky for company.
Persson shared:
“I’d like to think that it gives me peace in many ways. Fighting is always where my focus is at, but having this as a hobby, I’d say, provides the perfect balance.”
With the Winter Olympics wrapped up, Persson’s attention has completely shifted to Bangkok, where she hopes to bounce back from her promotional debut loss and break back into the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title picture.
Flores awaits at ONE Fight Night 41 on March 13, and the Swedish striker arrives at “The Madison Square Garden of the East” with a point to prove and the kind of grounded resolve that only someone with roots this deep can carry into battle.
Persson said:
“I’m really excited to be back. I’m ready to put on a show and prove how much more I’ve grown as a fighter since debuting in the four-ounce gloves.”