ONE Championship: Stamp Fairtex looking forward to defending her atomweight title but has an eye on the strawweight crown
- The Thai will defend her MMA belt against former training mate Denice Zamboanga in Bangkok at ONE 167 on June 8
- Stamp hopes to then be given the chance to win the strawweight title and to become the first fighter in history to hold MMA titles in two weight divisions
Stamp Fairtex’s ability to compete in three different sports means she will never be short of prospective opponents. The Thai currently holds the atomweight MMA belt and previously held the kickboxing and Muay Thai titles in the same division.
At ONE 167 on June 8, she will defend her MMA belt against Denice Zamboanga in Bangkok. The two are former training partners who were both based at the Fairtex Gym in Pattaya for several years.
Zamboanga left Fairtex when a fight with Stamp started to look like an inevitability. Last weekend, the Thai was in Bangkok to attend ONE Fight Night 20 and she spent time talking to the Post.
Stamp says she is looking forward to making the first defence of the title she won by beating Seo Hee Ham last year but acknowledges that Zamboanga is a dangerous opponent.
“I’m excited because it is my first time defending the belt. I think the way she can take me down and pressure me makes her dangerous.”
Stamp and Zamboanga trained together in Pattaya when they were both rising stars in the atomweight division. It became increasingly clear that they would end up fighting eventually but Stamp claims they never discussed it.
“I never talked about this with her but we did have it at the back of our minds,” said the 26-year-old.
Stamp was ringside at Lumpinee Stadium to see Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom unify the atomweight kickboxing titles when she defeated Janet Todd.
Stamp held this belt from 2018 until 2020 and would like to get it back.
“I’m interested in both of the belts that used to be mine. I feel Phetjeeja’s a rising star, she has the strength, the speed and I think she will be able to beat most opponents. I hope we will fight.”
Stamp is interested not just in the atomweight titles, but also to become the first fighter in history to hold MMA titles in two weight divisions.
The fight with Zamboanga was originally scheduled for ONE 166 in Qatar but was pushed back a few months and will now take place in Bangkok’s 11,000-capacity Impact Arena.
That date is set in stone, and Stamp hopes to then be given the opportunity to challenge reigning strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan.
“After I defend my belt I would like to try moving up to strawweight to face Xiong Jing Nan. I have been thinking about this ever since I got the belt. We are both strikers – I think no one would go for takedowns.”
Stamp is three inches (7.6cm) shorter than Xiong, a difference that is significant but not insurmountable. Having won three different titles at atomweight she wants to test the waters in a higher weight class and there are a lot of fights out there for the Thai in 2024.
Should Stamp manage to defend her atomweight title for the first time by overcoming Zamboanga in June, it sounds like other belts will be on the agenda for the Fairtex representative.
