“There’s a lot of technique that I need to learn” - Stamp Fairtex focused on grappling to close gap with Angela Lee

Stamp Fairtex fell short on her first crack at seizing the ONE Championship world atomweight belt from reigning queen Angela Lee. Now, the former two-sport titleholder is shoring up her game, so that when the opportunity for another title shot comes along, she will be on better footing.

In an interview with SCMP MMA, Stamp said she is focusing, in particular, on her grappling game. She believes improvements in that realm will go a long way in narrowing the gap between her and longtime champion Lee.

Stamp Fairtex said:

“I think that BJJ is a very important thing to learn against Angela Lee and I’ve learned a lot of techniques. She’s [Angela] a black belt and [I’m] right now a purple belt. So there’s a lot of technique that I need to learn.”

Catch the full interview below:

The two decorated warriors met at ONE X last March in Singapore. It served as Lee’s comeback fight after a two-and-a-half-year break following her pregnancy.

Stamp badly hurt Lee with telling body shots in the opening round but fell to a rear-naked choke by the champion late in the second frame. The win was the fifth successful title defense for Lee, who has been atomweight queen since 2016.

Recognizing that she let a great opportunity slip away the first time, Stamp is setting her sights on a rematch with Lee down the line. She is looking to finally break through and fulfill one of her goals of becoming a three-sport world champion.

But before that happens, Stamp will first see action at ONE Fight Night 6 on January 13 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. She will take on Anissa Meksen in an atomweight MMA and Muay Thai mixed-rules showdown.

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Stamp Fairtex lays out conditions for Denice Zamboanga - “Then call me”

Apart from Angela Lee, a possible future opponent for Stamp Fairtex is Filipino atomweight 'The Menace' Denice Zamboanga. Both Stamp and Zamboanga consider each other very close friends.

However, Zamboanga called out Stamp following her victory over Lin Heqin at ONE on Prime Video 5 in December, looking to get her own title shot by way of the number one contender in the division.

Stamp said she is open to it, provided Zamboanga meets certain conditions, specifically if she beats Korea's Ham Seo Hee, who has already defeated the Filipino twice.

In an Instagram post, Stamp wrote:

"What? ... Please tell her to beat Ham Seo Hee first. She lost to her twice. Beat her first, then let's talk."

In the atomweight rankings, Zamboanga is running third behind Stamp Fairtex and Ham Seo Hee. Completing the top five are Ukrainian Alyona Rassohyna and Singaporean Tiffany Teo in that order.