Newly crowned ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex of Thailand has reached the pinnacle of her career. She is now an unprecedented three-sport ONE world champion, having claimed belts in MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
That’s an incredible feat that cannot be ignored, but the 26-year-old says she could not have achieved this level of success if not for the lessons she learned from the former atomweight queen, ‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee.
Stamp Fairtex fought Lee at the historic ONE X in March of 2022, losing by second-round submission by way of rear-naked choke. Despite the defeat, however, she says she learned tremendously from the experience, including a lesson from Lee herself.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Stamp shared the advice Lee gave her before she fought for the vacant atomweight belt.
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The 26-year-old said:
“I’d love for the younger generations to learn that do not, ever, give up. Keep your head up, keep working on yourself, be dedicated to what you love, and always be humble. It’ll be your day one day. Keep on working, and one day you’ll shine the brightest.”
Stamp Fairtex defeated dangerous South Korean veteran ‘Hamzzang’ Ham Seo Hee in the main event of ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video a few weeks ago in Singapore. After the fight, Lee stepped into the ONE Championship Circle herself to personally congratulate Stamp and hand her the belt in an emotional passing of the torch.
The two have expressed mutual respect and admiration for each other, and Lee even said the future of the atomweight division is in good hands with Stamp.
Stamp Fairtex’s victory ushers in a new era in ONE Championship’s atomweight division and creates loads of exciting new matchups.
If you haven’t seen ONE Fight Night 14 yet, there’s still time to do so. Fans in the United States and Canada can catch a replay of the action on Amazon Prime Video.