ONE X: Angela Lee and Stamp Fairtex face crossroads moment in atomweight title fight

Champion and challenger will collide in Saturday’s main event – but there is much more than the belt on the line in Singapore

‘This fight is huge,’ Lee says – ‘there’s a lot of pressure, a lot at stake, but I love that’

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Angela Lee (left) and Stamp Fairtex at the ONE X faceoffs. Photos: ONE Championship.

Published: 3:21pm, 25 Mar 2022Updated: 4:50pm, 25 Mar 2022

Angela Lee and Stamp Fairtex face a crossroads moment at Saturday’s ONE X event inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Lee, ONE Championship’s long-reigning atomweight queen, and Stamp, arguably the fastest-rising star on the promotion’s roster, will collide in the card’s main event, with a newly revamped world title belt hanging in the balance. The “26.4 pounds of precious gold” also comes with a special case designed by Tumi, as part of a new multi-year partnership with the premium lifestyle and luxury performance brand

Title fights are always a big deal, but in this instance, the stakes are particularly massive for both women.

Stamp Fairtex stands next to the new ONE Championship world title – which she hopes to win at ONE X in Singapore.

Canadian-American Lee (10-2) will be competing for the first time since October 2019, when she defended her title with a fifth-round submission victory over ONE strawweight champion Xiong Jingnan. She also gave birth to her first child in April 2021.

The champion has made a stunning physical transformation since her pregnancy, but has faced a deluge of doubt nonetheless, with fans and pundits alike questioning her ability to perform at the highest level after such a long lay-off.

Lee has countered those questions by asserting that the lay-off has actually given her time to grow as a martial artist, and that motherhood has given her extra motivation to win.

“It feels so good to be back in Singapore,” the 25-year-old, who has held the atomweight title since 2016, said at Thursday afternoon’s ONE X open workouts outside the city’s Kallang Wave Mall.