"She will come back fast" - Smilla Sundell believes teammate Stamp will return stronger after suffering knee injury
Former ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell is gutted after her teammate and close friend Stamp Fairtex suffered a meniscus tear in training. As such, the ONE atomweight MMA world champion had to bow out of her planned title defense against Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167.
In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA's Nic Atkin, Sundell said Stamp made the right call of going through surgery right away, instead of risking further harm:
"I think it's better for her not to [fight with the injury], because I think it's not worth it in the end."
Moreover, 'The Hurricane' is optimistic that if there's anyone who can return stronger from a serious knee injury, it's definitely the three-sport queen.
The Swedish phenom added:
"But I think she would come back faster than other people because she's one of the strongest people. So she will come back fast I think."
Watch the full interview:
Meanwhile, the show must go on and Tawanchai and 'Smokin' Jo Nattawut's featherweight Muay Thai clash has been upgraded to the main event of ONE 167.
The blockbuster card will emanate from Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7, live in US Primetime, free for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Noelle Grandjean replaces Stamp against Denice Zamboanga
With Stamp out indefinitely, Zamboanga will stay on the card against replacement opponent Noelle Grandjean.
'Lil Monkey' will take on her stiffest challenge yet against the second-ranked Filipina warrior, who would love to unleash her frustrations at ONE 167.
'The Menace' has missed out on a world title opportunity for the second time. She was in the same predicament a few years back, when former atomweight MMA queen Angela Lee had to back out of the match following her pregnancy.