“I was just trying to calm myself” - Stamp recalls trying to be as stoic as possible amidst the hype that surrounded ONE Fight Night 14
The night Stamp Fairtex won the ONE women's atomweight MMA world championship was an emotional rollercoaster — to say the least.
After dominating the worlds of both Muay Thai and kickboxing, the Thai superstar stepped into the spotlight at ONE Fight Night 14 in September for a ONE women's MMA world title fight with South Korean standout Ham Seo Hee. With a win, Stamp would become the first fighter in ONE history to win world titles in three separate sports.
If that weren't enough pressure, she was also feeling an overwhelming wave of emotion after the promotion's first and, to that point, only atomweight MMA queen, Angela Lee, laid down her crown in the middle of the Circle and announced her retirement.
"I wasn’t really thinking about much," Stamp said while looking back on the moment during an interview with the South China Morning Post. "I was just trying to calm myself down and focus on the fight."
64 seconds into the third round, Stamp unleashed a brutal body blow that sent Ham Seo Hee reeling. Moments later, the fight was over and ONE Championship had officially crowned its second women's atomweight MMA world champion in promotional history.
Denice Zamboanga determined to make Stamp Fairtex's atomweight MMA title reign a short one
Returning to the Circle on Friday, June 7, Stamp Fairtex will once again step into the main event spotlight as she puts her shiny new piece of hardware on the line at ONE 167. Hoping to make Stamp's reign a short one will be No. 2-ranked contender Denice Zamboanga.
'The Menace' walks into the title tilt with 10 career wins, five of them coming under the ONE banner. Her most recent victories against Lin Heqin and Julie Mezabarba showed the world that she is ready for her first shot at ONE Championship gold.
Who leaves Impact Arena in Bangkok with the coveted atomweight crown on June 7?
ONE Championship fans in the United States can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime.