Angela Lee vs. Stamp Fairtex confirmed as main event of ONE X

‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee and Stamp Fairtex will meet in a five-round thriller in the main event of ONE X on Saturday, March 26.

The date was revealed by ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong on the latest episode of The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

The bout will mark the return of the atomweight queen, who has not competed since her successful world title defense against Xiong Jing Nan in October 2019.

Angela Lee took some time off from her career to focus on her family. The Hawaii-based star and her husband Bruno Pucci welcomed their first child, daughter Ava Marie Pucci, on April 16 last year.

Standing across from her in the Circle at the Singapore Indoor Stadium will be a genuine contender who is gunning for a third world title in the promotion.

Stamp, a former ONE atomweight kickboxing and atomweight Muay Thai world champion, booked her ticket as the number one contender to the throne after her submission win over Ritu ‘The Indian Tigress’ Phogat. In doing so, she became the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix champion.

The Fairtex standout has only suffered one defeat in her nine-fight resume. That defeat came against Ukrainian submission expert Alyona Rassohyna at ONE: Unbreakable III in January last year.

Stamp understands that she will be taking on the toughest test of her professional MMA career. However, the 24-year-old is confident that her all-round game will be enough to seal an upsetting win over ‘Unstoppable’.

The odds will certainly be stacked against her. Angela Lee is yet to be defeated at atomweight. Her only two career losses came against Xiong Jing Nan and Michelle Nicolini at strawweight.

In Angela Lee's most recent title defense, the Evolve MMA and United MMA star submitted Xiong at 4:48 of the fifth stanza en route to her fourth world title defense.

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Can Stamp Fairtex be the first athlete to stop Angela Lee’s perfect run in atomweight?

The Thai fighter has been the more active of the pair and, given her improved skill set, she should enter this bout with full confidence.

Stamp has shown in her recent bouts that she has the tools to grapple with some of the division’s ground specialists, even submitting wrestling sensation Phogat in the final of the Atomweight GP. Her takedown defense and relentless striking could frustrate ‘Unstoppable’.

However, defeating the atomweight queen is easier said than done. Lee's wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and creativity in the striking department has powered her to some highlight-reel moments in her career.