KEY POINTS
- Stamp Fairtex earned a shot at the interim ONE women’s atomweight title
- Ham Seo Hee could be Stamp’s opponent for the interim title
- Stamp assures that she is “ready” for a potential clash with Ham
One of the many who stole the show in ONE Championship’s historic United States debut last May 5 was Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex.
The 25-year-old resident of Pattaya, Thailand authored an electrifying victory at the expense of Alyse Anderson on the undercard of ONE Fight Night 10, which emanated live from the sold-out 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado.
Following a competitive first round with both ladies exchanging their best offense, Stamp gained the upper hand in the second stanza courtesy of her Muay Thai pedigree.
Stamp clobbered a flagellating kick to the midsection, which sent the American heroine crumbling to the mat in pain.
She then followed it up with two punches for good measure to force referee Justin Brown to call a halt to the contest at the 2:27 mark of the second round.
“In Muay Thai, it’s common practice, right? When someone’s in close range, when they break, you fire off a weapon. It was instinct. It was years and years of training,” she told reporters about the finishing sequence during the post-event press conference.
Apart from earning a $50,000 performance bonus and improving her win-loss slate to 10-2, the scintillating victory also landed her an opportunity to vie for the interim ONE women’s atomweight championship.
The leading candidate to square off with Stamp for the aforementioned hardware is none other than No. 2-ranked contender Ham Seo Hee, who has won three consecutive matches since joining the promotion in 2020.
Although the matchup has yet to be made official, Stamp is already looking forward to sharing the Circle with the South Korean hard-hitter.
“I’ll leave it up to [ONE Championship chairman and CEO] Chatri [Sityodtong]. I’m ready any time,” she said.
Moreover, Stamp dispelled notions that Ham will provide the stiffest test of her young mixed martial arts career.
Ham is a 34-fight veteran with 26 victories, and she has held titles in organizations such as Rizin Fighting Federation, Road FC, and Jewels.
For Stamp, she still considers lineal division queen Angela Lee—who decided to take a sabbatical earlier this year following the sudden passing of her younger sister Victoria Lee—the best opponent that she has ever faced.
Lee and Stamp fought each other in March 2022, with the former prevailing by way of second-round submission.
“I will say Angela Lee is much tougher. She’s actually the toughest opponent I’ve faced,” the former two-sport ONE world titleholder stated.
Stamp is prepared to suit up for action once more, but for now, she is relishing her coming-out party on American soil.
When asked what her formula for success is, she attributes it to her desire and dedication as an individual.
“You have to truly love what you do and just never give up. It’s very simple advice, but I just truly love what I do,” she ended.