Stamp Fairtex says striking superiority will prove decisive in ONE Championship return

Former two-sport ONE champion Stamp Fairtex returns to action at “ONE Championship 110: No Surrender” and says she’s excited to entertain the fans back home while she competes behind closed doors in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fairtex (4-0 MMA) will compete in one of two MMA bouts on a six-bout fight card at the Impact Arena on Friday and, despite enjoying championship success in ONE Championship under muay Thai and kickboxing rules, she’s excited to focus her skills on her fledgling MMA career as she looks to climb ONE’s atomweight ladder.

“It feels good to get back into training full swing, and of course, I’m happy to be fighting again after taking a break for a few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said ahead of her fight with promotional debutant Sunisa Srisen (3-0 MMA). “I’m excited to get in the ring with my opponent.

“This is her debut fight. I’ve studied her style and she seems like a great fighter. I won’t underestimate her at all. She’s got a good ground game. I’m a better striker. It’s a good matchup.”

Fairtex exploded into ONE Championship when her head-kick KO Rashi Shindi on ONE’s talent-finding show ONE Warrior Series led to her being offered a contract by the promotion, and she went on to defeat inaugural ONE atomweight kickboxing champion Kai Ting Chuang, before adding ONE’s atomweight muay Thai title to become the promotion’s first two-sport champion.

The 22-year-old from Pattaya then switched her attention to MMA and has added three more MMA wins to her record with victories coming via submission, decision and TKO in her last three outings.

Fairtex has since lost her kickboxing title to American Janet Todd, but remains determined to make her name in MMA while also defending her muay Thai title.

“I want to showcase my skills, and I always want to compete against the best in MMA because I want to improve myself,” she explained.

“I’ll see what I can do in this fight. It’s definitely a worthy challenge. I’ve also improved a lot since my last bout.”

Despite a lifetime of experience in muay Thai, Fairtex is a newcomer to MMA, but she has transitioned her skills to ONE’s global ruleset with good results so far. Despite the confidence of claiming victories in each of her three bouts so far, the decorated striker is keeping her cards close to her chest ahead of her latest outing as she looks to climb the ONE atomweight ladder.

“I don’t want to make any predictions for this fight, but I need to win,” she said. “It’s another step towards the world title.”

“ONE Championship 110: No Surrender” takes place behind closed doors at the Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, July 31. The event will be streamed globally via the ONE Super App.