ONE Championship: Chatri Sityodtong reveals extent of Stamp’s injury that forced her out of ONE 167

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong laments that reigning atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex had to withdraw from her scheduled title defense next month because of knee injury. He, however, understands that such is among the things that fighters sometimes have to go through and he wished nothing but the best for her in recovery.

Stamp was originally to headline ONE 167 on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. There she was supposed to defent the atomeight MMA gold for the first time against No. 2 contender Denice Zamboanga of the Philippines.

She was already in the thick of her preparation when she got injured at camp, forcing her out of competition for the foreseeble future.

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Sityodtong shared what happened to Stamp while in training and the extent of her injury.

The ONE executive said:

"It's a sad thing. One of her final sparring sessions prepping for the big event in a couple of weeks, she blew out her knee. Eighty percent of her meniscus was torn off her knee, and it was on a nasty takedown where her leg got caught. Her knee buckled. She just went for surgery, very successful surgery [on Sunday]."

Stamp claimed the then-vacant ONE atomweight MMA world title last September with a third-round TKO of South Korean veteran Ham Seo Hee. She made history with the win, becoming the first three-sport ONE world champion, having previously held the atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing belts.

Replacing Stamp vs Zamboanga as the headlining bout for ONE 167 is the featherweight Muay Thai championship fight between reigning champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai and challenger Jo Nattawut.

As for Zamboanga, she is now set to face Noelle Grandjean at ONE 167, which will be available live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

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Stamp expresses regret for having to pull out of ONE 167

Stamp Fairtex regrets having to pull out of her scheduled title defense at ONE 167 on June 7 in Thailand, especially since it meant leaving fans, who were looking forward to her return, hanging.

A meniscus tear while in training forced the Thai superstar out of her title showdown against good friend and former teammate Denice Zamboanga.

It is something that she said was just unfortunate since she was looking forward to make her first defense of the world tittle she bagged in September.

In a statement, she said:

"I'm sorry that I didn't get on stage for everyone to cheer on. I worked hard and I was very focused for this fight. [But] accidents can happen all time."

Apart from ONE 167, the Fairtex Training Center standout is also slated to see action in September in the United States. But with the injury, her status for that is rendered uncertain.