Atomweight MMA queen Stamp Fairtex says she feels “more comfortable” during recovery from her knee injury
Reigning ONE atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex is still in the process of recovering from her knee injury but shared that she is making signifcant progress and is more comfortable now in her rehabilitation.
She shared this latest update in an Instagram video post on Wednesday, where she can be seen doing squat variations as part of her rehab. She captioned her post:
"My long and steady recovery process. Now my knee moves nearly normally working on my squat variations. I definitely feel more comfortbale pushing hard ... 'The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible.'"
Check out the video post below:
Stamp tore her left meniscus while preparing for her first defense of the atomweight world title against friend and former teammate Denice Zamboanga in June. It happened during a takedown with her sparring partner when her leg got caught and her knee buckled.
After undergoing an MRI, the extent of the injury was known, forcing her to withdraw from her title defense and undergo surgery. The injury, too, forced her out of her showdown with fellow ONE champion Xiong Jing Nan in the United States in September.
She is looking to return to action early next year and defend the world title she won in September 2023 with a third-round TKO of Ham Seo Hee of South Korea.
Denice Zamboanga hopes title clash with Stamp pushes through at some point
Denice Zamboanga rued that her scheduled title clash against Stamp Fairtex did not push through after the Thai champion injured her knee in training. She is just hoping their meeting still pushes through at some point.
'The Menace' shared this following her victory in June over Thai-French fighter Noel Grandjean, who stepped in as replacement opponent for the Filipino after Stamp withdrew from their title fight.
Zamboanga highlighted that the fans want them to battle and that they have to give in to it when it is already possible. She told the South China Morning Post in an interview:
"Hopefully yes. because it is not me who is expecting the fight, it is not me who wants to see the fight. Everyone wants to see that fight."
Watch the interview below:
While waiting for the Stamp title fight, Zamboanga was supposed to face Alyona Rassohyna of Ukraine back in October for the interim atomweight MMA world title. Unfortunately, she had to withdraw after injuring her hamstring in training.