‘A Year Of Learning’ – Stamp Fairtex Looks Back On 2024 Spent On The Sidelines, Discusses 2025 Return
For the first time in her professional career, Thai megastar Stamp Fairtex spent an entire calendar year on the sidelines.
The reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion was initially slated to defend her gold against close friend and #2-ranked contender Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga in June at ONE 167, then vie for strawweight MMA gold against “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan in September at ONE 168.
However, a torn meniscus Stamp suffered in training and the subsequent surgery and recovery process forced her out of those bouts.
Looking back on 2024, Stamp admitted that it was a disappointing year spent away from the action and ONE’s bright lights. Still, she was able to find a silver lining in the opportunity to learn about herself, meet new people, and expand her horizons beyond fighting.
She told onefc.com:
“This year, I spent a lot of time with myself and learned new things. It was a bad year, but not too bad because there were new things and new people to learn from. I could say it was a year of learning.”
Of course, the Thai is saddened by the foiled World Title fights against Zamboanga and Xiong.
As a former ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai and Kickboxing World Champion – and now an MMA World Champion – she viewed those bouts as big opportunities to solidify her legacy as a true combat sports icon:
“I am very disappointed to have missed both opportunities. No one wants something like this to happen because I want everyone to remember who Stamp is and why I’m so hungry for a championship.”
Stamp’s recovery process has been anything but easy, but it’s progressing nonetheless.
While she’s still far from 100 percent, she said that she’s finally able to put some weight on her knee and she plans to return to light training in the coming month:
“Now, I can take small steps and start jogging. I had surgery on May 20, and it’s been almost seven months since then. I think by January 2025, I will be able to run short distances and start practicing kicks again.”
Stamp Shares Timetable For Return
Stamp Fairtex is determined to return to top form in 2025.
With her recovery still ongoing, she hopes to first compete in kickboxing before defending her MMA gold – and remind the world just how talented she is:
“Right now, I want to get back into fighting. I want to step back into the ring, focus on training, and continue my recovery. I want to have a kickboxing fight before defending my belt, and I want to successfully defend my belt. I want to show everyone that Stamp is back.”
In terms of timing, the 27-year-old doesn’t want to rush anything and is targeting a return to action in late spring. After that, she expects to remain active in both MMA and striking bouts.
In the meantime, Denice Zamboanga and Alyona Rassohyna are set to throw down for interim atomweight MMA gold on January 10 at ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev on Prime Video.
If Stamp’s recovery continues progressing as it should, the Thai plans to fight the winner of that bout for the undisputed crown.
Ultimately, Stamp is chomping at the bit to get back to doing what she does best in the world’s largest martial arts organization:
“I expect to compete in May or June. By then, everything should be in place. It may be a bit delayed, but coming back at 100 percent will definitely make my performance much better than competing while still in pain. I want to fight every three months.
“I’m interested in all the rule sets right now. I feel very eager to be back in the ring and I am excited about the challenge of returning to the sports where I was once a champion.”
