Reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion, Stamp Fairtex, has been a dominant force in the world of mixed martial arts. However, her journey took an unexpected turn when she suffered an injury during training, forcing her to withdraw from her highly anticipated main event clash with surging #2-ranked contender and close friend, Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga, at ONE 167.
😞 Stamp shares her disappointment after having to pull out of ONE 167 due to an injury. #ONE167 #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/vyZsqhLWN9
— Sportskeeda MMA (@sportskeedaMMA) May 24, 2024
Stamp Fairtex’s Injury and Its Impact
As Stamp Fairtex entered the final weeks of her camp at Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand, she fell victim to an unfortunate accident. The 26-year-old titleholder recounted the incident: “My sparring partner was behind me, and she was going to take me down. She grabbed my body and lifted me up, but since she is smaller than me, when she lifted me up, she couldn’t lift me that high, and my leg was still touching the ground.”
“Then, she twisted. When she twisted, my leg was still touching the ground, so my knee got twisted. When it twisted, it made a loud noise. So, I stopped immediately and went for an MRI after that. [And the doctor said] my meniscus was torn.”
Stamp’s scheduled bout with Zamboanga would have marked her first ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Championship defense. The Thai fighter claimed the vacant World Title with a riveting third-round TKO victory over Ham Seo Hee last September. With that win, she became an unprecedented three-sport ONE World Champion, having previously held both the promotion’s kickboxing and Muay Thai crowns.
Although she will not compete at ONE 167 now, Stamp Fairtex has a message for fans who were looking forward to seeing her in action: “I worked hard and was very focused on this fight.” Her disappointment is palpable, but her determination remains unwavering.
With Stamp’s withdrawal, the blockbuster spectacle at ONE 167 will move forward without the Thai megastar. Instead, the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title showdown between defending king Tawanchai PK Saenchai and #3-ranked “Smokin” Jo Nattawut will headline the bill. The event will be broadcast live in U.S. primetime from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 7.
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