“I wanted to be a teacher” - Stamp Fairtex says she almost quit fighting when she was 7 years old

Stamp Fairtex revealed she once wanted to pursue being a teacher instead of fighting.

Stamp, the ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion, is widely considered one of the most dangerous female fighters in promotional history. Surprisingly, there was once a time when she considered pursuing a different career path.

The Thai superstar recently made an appearance on Demetrious Johnson's 'MIGHTYcast.' Stamp talked about starting her combat sports journey at the age of seven and stopping at twelve. She later returned to fighting at 18.

Stamp has this to say about her previous interest in becoming a teacher:

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"No. For me, I just studied. I didn’t think about coming back to fight again. I only studied, and I wanted to be a teacher. Then someone asked if I wanted to fight for some event, and I said okay, because I’m fat and I wanted to cut weight."

Stamp Fairtex holds ONE Championship records of 11-2 in MMA, 2-1 in Muay Thai, and 2-1 in kickboxing. The 27-year-old Thai superstar plans to continue building her legacy later this year after overcoming a devastating injury.

Watch Stamp's entire appearance on Johnson's MIGHTYcast below:

Stamp Fairtex scheduled for highly anticipated return at ONE 173

Stamp Fairtex had two title fights simultaneously scheduled in 2024 against Denice Zamboanga and Xiong Jing Nan. The Thai megastar suffered a torn MCL while training, forcing her to pull out of both bouts and endure a treacherous recovery process.

On August 1, Stamp will make her highly anticipated return in the ONE 173 main event. She's scheduled to defend her women's atomweight MMA world title in a unification bout against interim title holder Denice Zamboanga.

Zamboanga capitalized on Stamp's time away by defeating Alyona Rassohyna for the division's interim title on January 10.

Stamp and Zamboanga are former training partners at Fairtex Training Center, where they established a close friendship.

ONE 173 will take place inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States. ONE Championship last appeared at the venue in 2024 for ONE 168, an event headlined by Superlek knocking out Jonathan Haggerty for the bantamweight Muay Thai world title.

About the author

Jake Foley is a journalist at Sportskeeda, specializing in covering all forms of combat sports, including MMA, Boxing, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai. His passion is ignited by the exceptional fusion of physical and mental skills demanded by world-class fighters in these sports. Jake is captivated by the intricate mix of fierce determination and a modest mindset exhibited by athletes in these disciplines. He also finds the atmosphere of major championships, like the epic clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, truly unparalleled.

Jake has earned his UFC credentials to cover the major events for Sportskeeda and has conducted several interviews.

Jake supports various teams across several professional sports, including the Las Vegas Raiders, Inter Miami, Norwich City, Miami Marlins, and Las Vegas Golden Knights. The sports moment Jake will never forget is Jon Jones dismantling Vladimir Matyushenko.

Since joining the SportsKeeda team, Jake has written 400 articles covering several MMA promotions, including the UFC and ONE Championship. He continues to work hard to maintain his journalistic integrity and tell the stories of fighters worldwide.

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Edited by C. Naik