"I thought she was gonna crumble" – ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong shocked Angela Lee overcame Stamp Fairtex's "textbook" liver shot

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong was mere feet away from what could’ve been a historic title change, but no belt was changing hands in the main event of ONE X.

Stamp Fairtex landed a looping left hook square on the liver of Angela Lee in the first round. However, despite that early scare, it was still the reigning ONE women’s atomweight world champion who got her hand raised at the end of the match.

Lee weathered Stamp’s early storm and submitted the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix Championship winner with 10 seconds remaining in the second frame.

During the media availability after the event, Sityodtong said that he thought Stamp was about to take the match and the championship. He was surprised Lee survived the early onslaught.

The ONE Championship Chairman said:

“When she got hit with the liver shot I thought she was gonna crumble, right? Because that liver shot was literally textbook, it was crazy. And I actually thought that Stamp was gonna win the fight."

Lee was able to backpedal from Stamp when she absorbed the cracking liver blow, allowing her to recover from the strike.

In the second round, Lee managed to submit Stamp via rear-naked choke to retain her ONE women’s atomweight world title for the fifth time.

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Chatri Sityodtong had Lee as the underdog

Angela Lee might’ve entered ONE X as the reigning champion, but there was a lot that she had to prove in her title defense against Stamp.

Lee hadn’t fought since 2019 and sat out for more than two years after giving birth to her baby daughter Ava Marie. It was the prolonged absence that made Chatri Sityodtong tab the defending champion as the underdog ahead of the main event of ONE Championship’s 10-year anniversary show.

Sityodtong added that there were doubts as to whether Lee could still perform at the championship level. It turns out that ‘Unstoppable’ was ready in every sense of the word.

“I had Angela as the underdog. Everyone at the cageside was talking, ‘Is she ready for the fight?’ And there’s the question mark on Angela. She's been out for a while. Obviously, she looks extraordinary, but I think Stamp is on a red hot streak.”

Having proven her talents in the circle once again, Lee will turn her attention to the next defense of her world title.