Smilla Sundell admits she still gets “nervous every time” she spars with three-sport queen Stamp at Fairtex
She may have trained with Stamp Fairtex for several years now, but Smilla Sundell admits she still gets the nerves every time she spars with the Thai megastar.
Sundell often spars with Stamp, the ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion, during training at Fairtex Training Center but the reigning ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion said she couldn't help but get nervous every time.
In an interview with ONE Championship, Sundell said she's unsure whether it's being starstruck or another factor, but sharing the ring with Stamp usually throws her off.
"I don't know, to be honest. I get nervous every time I spar, so it's hard to say if it's because I'm still starstruck or just the nerves," said Smilla Sundell.
Stamp has been fighting under ONE Championship's main roster since 2018 and held the ONE atomweight kickboxing and Muay Thai world championships from 2019 until 2020.
She eventually made the successful transition to MMA where she captured the ONE Atomweight MMA World Grand Prix title in 2021 before getting hold of the ONE women's atomweight MMA world title in September 2023.
Sundell, meanwhile, arrived at ONE Championship in 2022 and has racked up a perfect 4-0 record in the promotion and became the ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion in her second fight.
Teammates Stamp Fairtex and Smilla Sundell to defend respective world titles in their next matches
Training with each other certainly gives Stamp and Smilla Sundell different dimensions to their in-ring style.
Sundell and Stamp rarely go easy on each other at Fairtex Training Center, and that hard-nosed approach made both fighters two of the toughest on the planet.
That work will be put to the test when Sundell and Stamp put their respective world titles on the line.
Sundell will defend the ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world title against Natalia Diachkova in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22 this Friday, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Stamp, meanwhile, will put her ONE women's atomweight MMA world championship on the line against former training partner and close friend Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167 on June 7 at Impact Arena.
Both ONE Fight Night 22 and ONE 167 are available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.