Christian Lee weighs in on Stamp’s successful transition to MMA ahead of ONE X

Over the past two years, Thai sensation Stamp Fairtex has become the most dominant female atomweight athlete in the world. Her success in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix was the cherry on top of her phenomenal run of form.

The former two-sport queen's submission win over Indian wrestling champion Ritu Phogat in the Grand Prix final caught the attention of many martial artists, including Christian ‘The Warrior’ Lee.

In an exclusive interview with ONE, the former lightweight king offered his thoughts on why the 24-year-old Pattaya native has found such success in MMA.

Lee put it down to Stamp’s stellar stand-up game and fight IQ:

“You know, I think what makes her striking dangerous is that she's able to translate it into MMA. So, her striking isn't just leaving her open for takedowns. Now, she knows how to blend it and kick from long range to keep the fight where she wants – and then pick her up points apart.”

The Thai fighter's Grand Prix triumph booked her a date with Lee’s sister, women's atomweight champion Angela Lee, at ONE X on March 26.

Though he has praise for the Fairtex representative, he's supremely confident that his older sibling will leave the promotion’s 10th-anniversary event with a memorable win and another successful title defense.

'The Warrior' said:

“I think she's, you know, got a good strategy going in this fight against Angela. I think she's going to be prepared. But I still think that, even with a time off, Angela is still just a few levels of skill ahead of her. And if you put that with the hard work that she's putting in, I think that it's going to make for a very tough night for her opponent.”

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Stamp’s striking and takedown defense are keys to victory

Stamp’s top tool to earn victory against Lee lies in the stand-up department.

If she can tag the longtime atomweight queen with a couple of strikes and perhaps some knees and elbows from the clinch, she stands a good chance of winning the match.

Along with her striking, the Muay Thai and kickboxing artist will also need to ensure that her takedown defense is on point. Unlike Phogat, Lee understands how to mix things up before shooting for single and double-leg attempts.

The United MMA and Evolve MMA star is far more creative than any of Stamp’s previous opponents when taking the fight to the canvas, so the Fairtex superstar will need to stay aware.