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Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex has competed and got the better of many world-class fighters in ONE Championship. Among them was wrestling ace Ritu Phogat of India.
The Fairtex Training Center standout took on 'The Indian Tigress' at ONE: Winter Warriors in December 2021 in Singapore in an atomweight MMA clash. She won by submission (arm bar) in the second round to make it seven straight victories for her at that point.
In an interview with retired MMA legend and former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson in his Mighty podcast, Stamp recounted what went down in her showdown with Phogat, including how surprised she was to be able to pull off an armbar submission over one of the best female wrestlers in the game.
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She said:
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"I was really surprised. I trained hard with my coach, DJ Jackson, and he kept me doing armbars and defending everything because she’s great at wrestling. Then really surprised I pulled an armbar on her. That’s the thing I’m surprised about."
The victory over Phogat set Stamp up for a world title shot against former atomweight MMA queen Angela Lee in her next match in March 2022. She, however, fell short in her push, losing by submission in the second round.
But she claimed the then-vacant atomweight MMA world title in September 2023 with a third-round TKO of veteran South Korean fighter Ham Seo Hee. The win also saw her make history as the only three-sport world champion in ONE Championship, having previously held the atomweight kickboxing and Muay Thai world titles simultaneously.
Recently, Stamp agreed to relinquish the atomweight MMA championship belt as she continues to deal with a knee injury she suffered last year.
Stamp Fairtex says MMA provides a venue for her to unleash her full arsenal
Stamp Fairtex has competed in kickboxing, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts, but she has taken a special liking to MMA as it allows her to showcase her full arsenal as a fighter.
She spoke about in the same interview on the Mighty podcast of Demetrious Johnson, highlighting how MMA presents varying challenges to her fighting skills.
"Mixed martial arts. I love mixed martial arts because everyone wants to take me down, and I feel like there are a lot of good opportunities when you come for me because I can hit you a lot."
While Stamp has focused and has had a lot of success in MMA the past few years, she said she has not totally forgotten kickboxing and Muay Thai, which she also dominated in, looking to return to competing in them at some point.
