“They don’t know my journey” - Stamp Fairtex opens up on emotional toll behind historc run in ONE Championship
Over the years, Stamp Fairtex has become one of ONE Championship's biggest stars, but her journey to the top of three different sports has taken a toll on her. Stamp is the only fighter in ONE history—male or female—to claim gold in three sports.
It all began in 2018 when she captured the ONE atomweight kickboxing world championship. Shortly after, she added the ONE atomweight Muay Thai world title to her resume, becoming one of the few athletes to ever hold titles in two sports simultaneously.
Then came her incredible 11-2 run in mixed martial arts that culminated in her becoming just the second woman to hold the ONE atomweight MMA world championship.
But her journey has come with great sacrifice and a whole lot of pain, some of which she spoke about during a recent appearance on Demetrious Johnson's Mightycast podcast.
"I just talk with myself — I did everything good already, I practiced really hard, which no one saw," Stamp said.
She added:
"Everyone can see me when I succeed, but they don’t know my journey. I get hurt. My knee is hurt and broken. My feet are broken, my shoulder is broken again. I can cry every day when I train really hard. But I hide it."
Stamp Fairtex details the setback that convinced her to relinquish the ONE atomweight MMA world title
Sadly, Stamp Fairtex's journey has taken a dark turn as of late.
Last year, she was scheduled to put her ONE atomweight MMA world title on the line against Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167. Tragically, the fight never came to fruition after Stamp suffered a torn meniscus while training.
Stamp underwent surgery and appeared to be on track for a summer 2025 return, but her progress was halted after she reaggravated the injury while recovering.
"It's good, but I cannot train like 100 percent," she told the South China Morning Post. "In the beginning, it was like three months of surgery. Then I tried training again, but then I had to start recovery again. So it took a long time, more than one year."
As a result, Stamp relinquished her atomweight MMA crown, turning it over to Zamboanga, who was promoted from interim to undisputed champion.
No timetable has been given for her return to the cage, but Zamboanga has already made it clear that she'll gladly give her a chance to bring the atomweight title back home to Thailand once Stamp is good to go.