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Thai megastar Stamp Fairtex returns for a second straight main event when she takes on close friend and former training partner Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167.
Stamp will put her ONE women's atomweight MMA world title against Zamboanga, the number-two contender in the division, in the headlining bout on June 7 at Impact Arena in Bangkok.
ONE Championship announced the match and the card on Instagram with the caption, which read:
"🔥 ONE 167 - JUNE 7 🔥 Stamp Fairtex makes her first ONE Atomweight MMA World Title defense against #2-ranked contender and former training partner Denice Zamboanga! 👑 @stamp_fairtex @denicezamboanga"
The match will be the first time Stamp defends the ONE women's atomweight MMA world title after she captured the vacant strap at ONE Fight Night 14 against South Korean icon Ham Seo Hee via third-round knockout.
Zamboanga, meanwhile, is coming off two straight wins over China's Lin Heqin and Brazil's Julie Mezabarba. This will be her first shot at ONE gold.
ONE 167 is available live and free on Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Stamp Fairtex always knew a world title match against Denice Zamboanga was inevitable
ONE Championship always takes pride in the respect its fighters share with each other, but the relationship between Stamp Fairtex and Denice Zamboanga extends far beyond fighting.
The pair are as close as anyone and share a tight friendship that they have cultivated over many years. Despite their friendship, Stamp said she and Zamboanga always felt that they would one day fight each other for MMA gold.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Stamp said:
"I never talked about it with her before, but we always had this on the back of our minds, that once she leaves the gym then [a fight between us] could happen."
Zamboanga once used Fairtex Training Center as her home gym in Thailand, but she has since returned to the Philippines to join her older brother Drex at T-Rex MMA.
Watch Stamp's entire interview below:
