Stamp Fairtex: Combat sports royalty in search of another piece of history

When a young five-year-old girl from the Royong region of Thailand started out on her journey into combat sports, few would have foreseen where we are 20 years later. Inspired by her father, Stamp Fairtex originally got into fighting to help protect herself from bullies, but through hard work and ability quickly developed into a generational talent. In her formative years, it was only a lack of competition that halted her progress – but that all changed at the age of 18 when she moved to Pattaya to join the famous Fairtex Gym. It was here she would have the opportunity to hone her skills across a range of sports, from her original Muay Thai to kickboxing, and MMA. Her rise from here was nothing short of incredible, winning the ONE Championship Atomweight Kickboxing World Championship on debut in 2018, and following that up in her second fight by claiming the Muay Thai crown at the same weight. Stamp was ONE’s first two-sport world champion and had achieved the feat in her first two fights, at the age of 21. It was a meteoric rise, but her trajectory has not always been upward. Consecutive losses in 2020 saw Stamp lose both her kickboxing and Muay Thai world titles – but it has been her reaction to those losses that have defined her championship credentials. Her surge into MMA was impressive – winning five out of her first six bouts – but it was the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix that really signaled her intentions in the cage. Winning that crown got her a shot at world champion Angela Lee, and while she may not have claimed the belt that night it could have been so different had she been able to capitalise fully on a brilliant liver shot in the first round.  Now she has the chance of MMA redemption in the form of the interim strawweight title when she faces Ham Seo Hee this week at ONE Friday Fights 14. Taking on the experienced 34-year-old will be no easy task, but title history awaits – and the prospect of a superfight against undisputed champion Xiong Jing Nan. Stamp has already rewritten the history books, and has her sights firmly set on further chapters in the future.  ONE Fight Night 14 comes live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore on Saturday September 30. Fight fans in the MENA region can watch action BeINSPORTS from 3.00am MECCA, or through ONE Championship’s official YouTube channel and on watch.onefc.com