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Chatri Sityodtong believes that of the four semi-finalists in the ONE atomweight world Grand Prix, Stamp Fairtex is the toughest matchup for champion Angela Lee. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, the ONE CEO and founder said:
"I think a really tough fight for Angela would be someone like a Stamp. Styles make fights and it's no secret that Angela has world class jiu-jitsu - her submissions are incredible. But it's also no secret that her striking needs a lot of work still. She's improved her striking leaps and bounds, but it's nowhere near world class in my humble opinion. Stamp has the style to give Angela a long night."
Chatri Sityodtong could be onto something as Lee has faced problems with good strikers in the past, namely Xiong Jingnan. In the third defense of her ONE strawweight title, the Chinese star scored the TKO against Lee in the fifth round of their epic encounter at ONE: A New Era in Tokyo.
Stamp Fairtex's MMA resume is not quite as decorated as Xiong Jingnan's. However, the Thai showed how much her ground game has improved by getting a split decision win against Alyona Rassohyna in their opening round match of the Grand Prix.
"Stamp is extremely explosive. Excellent balance. Tremendous takedown defense, and great submission defense as well," said Sityodtong. "She's very, very strong for her weight class and obviously has world class Muay Thai," Chatri Sityodtong added.
Chatri Sityodtong says Angela Lee won't be ready until 2022
The ONE atomweight world Grand Prix has already experienced many ups and downs, with various fighters dropping out through injury and other COVID-related reasons. It was a similar story for the lightweight Grand Prix in 2019. On that occasion, Christian Lee ended up stepping in to replace Eddie Alvarez in the final.
Fresh off of winning the lightweight title, Christian Lee overcame Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev via unanimous decision to add a second belt to his trophy cabinet. According to Chatri Sityodtong, it's doubtful that sister Angela will do something similar in this tournament. According to the ONE boss, the atomweight champion is not in fight shape following the birth of her first child this year and won't be ready to return until February 2022.
Chatri Sityodtong said that he thinks the judges got it wrong when they ruled Ok Rae Yoon the winner of his recent title fight against Christian Lee and maintains that 'The Warrior' is still one of the best fighters in the world. Sityodtong stated that Lee regularly 'runs through' elite fighters from other top organizations during training and hasn't ruled out pairing the former champion in a fight with Eddie Alvarez.
Watch Chatri Sityodtong's interview with Sportskeeda below:
