ONE Championship: Stamp Fairtex plots Muay Thai return in 2023, but still set on ‘challenging Angela Lee again’ in MMA
- Stamp hopes to return to Muay Thai competition in 2023, but remains focused on avenging a submission loss to atomweight MMA champion Lee
- Thai will first need to get through a special rules fight with Anissa Meksen, set for ONE on Prime Video 6 on January 14 in Bangkok
Stamp Fairtex has big plans for 2023.
The 25-year-old is currently ONE Championship’s No 1-ranked atomweight MMA contender, but got her start in Muay Thai and kickboxing, famously winning titles in both sports under the promotion’s banner.
She has not competed in a striking-only contest since August 2020, when she surrendered the atomweight Muay Thai belt with a decision loss to Allycia Rodrigues, but hopes to do so again in the new year – if she can get ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong’s blessing.
“I think I’ll find a way back to fight in Muay Thai for fans who miss me,” she told ONE recently. “I hope that Chatri would allow me to come back to Muay Thai sometime next year.”
While Stamp hopes to return to Muay Thai in 2022, that does not mean she has lost interest in MMA.
She is still focused on evolving in the sport, and after picking up a decision victory over Jihin Radzuan at ONE on Prime Video 2 in September, is eyeing a future rematch with atomweight queen Angela Lee, whom she lost to via submission at ONE X in March.
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“Although I lost, I didn’t regret sharing the Circle with her,” she said, looking back on her loss to Lee. “I learned a great lesson from that fight. It was a big, good test for me.
“For sure, I will improve my ground game more, with the hope of challenging Angela Lee again.”
Before Stamp can start preparing for her planned return to Muay Thai or her desired MMA rematch with Lee, she will need to get through a hotly anticipated special-rules clash with Algerian-French striking sensation Anissa Meksen.
The Thai will meet Meksen, considered one of the best female strikers on Earth, in a special-rules clash at ONE on Prime Video 6, slated for January 14 in Bangkok.
Like the Demetrious Johnson vs Rodtang Jitmuangnon fight at ONE X earlier this year, Stamp’s fight with Meksen will alternate between Muay Thai and MMA rounds, starting with the former.
It is an unusual challenge, but she views it as an exciting way to start her 2023 season.
“I’m going to start the year with a special-rules fight,” she said. “It will be a great opportunity to write a new page of my own history, to create my own legacy. And it’s a good start to the year.”
