ONE Championship: Stamp Fairtex wants Angela Lee rematch, aims to ‘go all the way in MMA’
- Thai star will meet Anissa Meksen in a special rules fight on January 14 in Bangkok, but remains focused on winning MMA title
- ‘I want to challenge Angela Lee for her world title again before I go back to Muay Thai and kickboxing,’ she says
Stamp Fairtex will be sharpening her Muay Thai skills for her upcoming fight with Anissa Meksen, but her overarching focus is still on MMA.
The 24-year-old Thai will meet Meksen, one of the top female strikers in the world, in a special rules contest at ONE on Prime Video 6, slated for January 6 in Bangkok. The first and third rounds of the bout will be contested under Muay Thai rules, while the second and fourth will be contested under MMA rules.
Stamp (9-2 MMA) formerly held titles in ONE’s atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing divisions, and a win over a striker of Meksen’s ilk – even in the context of a special rules fight – would position her for some big opportunities in both sports.
Yet the 24-year-old is determined to defeat Angela Lee to win ONE’s atomweight MMA title before she returns to her former sports.
“I want to go all the way in MMA,” she told the media after Saturday’s ONE on Prime Video 2 event in Singapore. “I want to challenge Angela Lee for her world title again before I go back to Muay Thai and kickboxing.”
Stamp was back in action on the ONE on Prime Video 2 main card, defeating fellow atomweight MMA contender Jihin Radzuan by unanimous decision. The victory distanced her from a March submission loss to Lee – a failed bid to swipe the Canadian-American champ’s title.
“I’m very proud because I have been training hard for this,” Stamp said of her win over Radzuan. “I was really happy that I was able to almost pull off a rear-naked choke on her in the second round.”
Lee was also in action at ONE on Prime Video 2, losing a close decision in a fight with strawweight champion Xiong Jingnan in the main event.
Stamp has occasionally been mentioned as a potential opponent with China’s Xiong, who is very short on viable contenders at strawweight, but the Thai sees the weight disparity between them as an issue.
“A fight between me and Xiong Jingnan is quite far away,” she said. “Her weight class is 56 kilograms and I’m only 52. In order to go up to that weight division and fight her, I would have to work for this. So maybe not now.”
While Stamp’s foremost goal is winning an MMA title, she is not looking past the 34-year-old Meksen. Despite her history as a kickboxing and Muay Thai champion, she has made it clear she will not be taking any chances with the French-Algerian, on the feet, and will be looking for a takedown as she is allowed.
“The fans might never have seen me taking anyone down, but in January, I’m surely going to take down my opponent,” she said. “I want to submit her.”
