“The right time at the right moment ” - Stamp Fairtex raves about Masaaki Noiri’s picturesque KO of Tawanchai

Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex has been out for a while now as she continues to recover from a knee injury. But, it has not stopped her from keeping tabs on the goings-on in ONE Championship. Among those that caught her attention of late was Japanese kickboxing star Masaaki Noiri's impressive knockout of Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

Noiri defeated featherweight Muay Thai king Tawanchai by TKO in the third round at ONE 172 in March in Japan to claim the division's interim kickboxing belt. He did it with solid precision which was among that stood out for Stamp.

In an interview with ONE Championship, an impressed Stamp raved about Noiri's victory, saying:

"I think it was the right time at the right moment when Tawanchai came to [throw the] knee but got hooked. I was shocked too. I don’t know if it was the double damage from a counter hit or if Noiri really hit hard because I didn’t think Tawanchai would get knocked out."

Tawanchai actually made early inroads at ONE 172 with his kicks and punches but Noiri stuck with his game and stayed patient until he found an opening to make his move.

He got it late in the third round after landing a solid left to the chin of Tawanchai following a ferocious exchange that sent the Thai star to the canvas.

While the latter was able to beat the count, he only found himself in deeper trouble as Noiri went for the finish with a barrage of strikes that was left unanswered, forcing the referee to call a stop to the match.

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Stamp focusing on rehab now before plunging back into action

Like Masaaki Noiri, Stamp Fairtex is aching to provide her own top-notch performances again in ONE Championship. She recognizes though that to be able to do it, she needs to be fully healed from her knee injury.

The Thai superstar reinjured her knee in training to set her back in her recovery. It forced her to reassess her approach on her rehab, focusing on it instead before entertaining any thoughts of competing again.

She told the South China Morning Post in an interview:

"Now I'm focused a lot about rehab. So, I think maybe [in] two or three months or four months I can train like normal."

Erstwhile atomweight MMA queen Stamp was supposed to meet interim world champion Denice Zamboanga in a unification bout later this year. But after getting reinjured she had to back out from it and the match eventually scrapped.

She, too, decided to relinquish the belt for things to move on in the division, elevating Zamboanga as the undisputed champion in atomweight.