“Make sure I’m ready” - Stamp Fairtex determined to get her knee right before committing to return
Stamp Fairtex is setting aside her in-ring exploits while she dedicates her time to returning to full health.
The Thai megastar reaggravated her injured left knee in training camp for her supposed world title unification match against close friend and former training partner Denice Zamboanga.
Stamp, then the ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion, re-injured her damaged left knee earlier this year, ahead of her match against interim world titleholder Zamboanga at ONE Championship's supposed return to the United States on Aug. 1 at Ball Arena in Denver.
In an interview with Nick Atkin, Stamp said she won't step back inside the cage until she's medically cleared and back to her old, devastating self.
Stamp Fairtex, a former ONE atomweight kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion, said:
"Yes. That’s why I want everything to be at 100 percent first. If it’s only 80 percent, and when I fight again, it can hurt again. And maybe I have to come back and do a surgery again, rehab again. I don’t want to waste time. So right now I’m 100 percent focused on my knee and making sure I’m ready for my fight, and I don’t have to worry about my knee at all."
After her recent injury, Stamp agreed to relinquish her strap, and Zamboanga was subsequently promoted to undisputed ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion.
ONE Championship's US event was also moved to June 26, 2026, after several world title fights failed to materialize.
Check out Stamp Fairtex's entire interview below:
Stamp Fairtex on coming to terms with her latest injury and relinquishing her MMA gold
It may have been a hard decision at first, but Stamp Fairtex has come to terms with relinquishing her ONE women's atomweight MMA world title after her latest injury setback.
Stamp was supposed to unify the 115-pound MMA world titles with then-interim world champion Denice Zamboanga, but a serious blow to her injured left knee dashed that super fight.
In the same interview with Nick Atkin, Stamp talked about her emotions after she relinquished her throne, which allowed Zamboanga to be elevated to undisputed world champion. She said:
"In the beginning, when I think about the belt…giving it to her ...my emotions were very not okay because I felt like I trained really hard, fought really hard, to get the belt, and now, I easily gave it to her."
Stamp Fairtex added:
"I feel bad for myself. But I feel it’s okay. It’s not my time yet. I must get everything back to 100 percent when I go in the ring again."