"That belt is more important" - Stamp Fairtex has no problem delivering heavy blows to dear friend Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167

Don't let Stamp Fairtex's playful interactions with Denice Zamboanga fool you. The reigning atomweight MMA world champion, after all, will pull out all the stops just to retain her 26 pounds of gold at ONE 167.

Once the bell rings, the Thai megastar says she'll make life miserable for her challenger on June 7 at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

With a month left before their fateful encounter, the former teammates made an appearance at ONE Fight Night 22 over the weekend and delighted fans with a friendly faceoff.

It was indeed a light-hearted moment for the two close friends, who kept giggling while talking about destroying the other.

Asked by Mitch Chilson how she'll deal with Zamboanga come fight time, Stamp reminded everyone that her responsibilities as a champion will override any affinity she has for 'The Menace':

"If you talk about our friendship, yes, it's hard to put that aside. But the belt is more important, so it's very easy for me."

ONE 167 will air live in US primetime on June 7, free for Prime Video subscribers in North America. The replay of ONE Fight Night 22 is also available on demand on the same platform.

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Denice Zamboanga also ready to forget "sisterhood" with Stamp Fairtex

This title fight will carry a lot of weight for Zamboanga, who seeks to become the Philippines' first-ever female MMA world champion.

Needless to say, 'The Menace' shares the same mindset as Stamp Fairtex. It's all fun and games for now, but she'll go for broke come June 7 at ONE 167.

The second-ranked atomweight MMA contender said:

"I know Stamp. I treat her as my sister. We trained before and I treat her as my family. But I will do my best to make history as the first Filipina world champion."

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