“The fight we all wanted to see” - Fans ready for high drama in Stamp’s world title defense against close friend Denice Zamboanga

For the first time in the promotion’s history, ONE Championship is headed to the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar on March 1 with ONE 166, which already boasts a stacked lineup.

The show is rife with must-watch bouts, four of which already featured ONE world championship title matches. But ONE decided to add one more in the form of Stamp Fairtex defending her ONE women’s atomweight MMA world championship against the Philippines’ Denice Zamboanga.

'The Menace' bounced back in a big way after consecutive losses to Ham Seo Hee, earning a hard-fought split decision win against Lin Heqin and a dominant unanimous decision win over Julie Mezabarba.

This bout marks the first time that the two close friends will share the ONE circle and it was a possibility that Stamp knew would be happening sometime down the line.

ONE Championship made the official reveal on its Instagram account, with fans responding to the major announcement in the comments:

“FINALLY! The fight we all wanted to see!!!!!!”

“Ooh. A fight with some DRAMA behind it.”

“Yeoooo the besties be throwing hands”

“OH MY GOD!!!!!!! I can’t wait. !!!!!!”

“Gonna be fireworks”

“Sometimes you have to throw down with your friends. It’s nothing personal.”

“I hope they’re still friends no matter what”

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Denice Zamboanga set to make good on her potential

The Filipina star called for her shot at the ONE women’s atomweight MMA world championship as recently as August of last year, and after a bit of waiting, she got her chance.

With two of the most relentless strikers in the division sharing the ONE circle, ONE 166 is an early favorite for card of the year on March 1.

Check your local listings or visit ONE Championship's official website on how to watch ONE 166 from your location.