After Thrilling War With ‘Supergirl,’ Stamp Fairtex Wants To Reclaim Kickboxing And Muay Thai Gold
At ONE Fight Night 6: Superbon vs. Allazov, Thai megastar Stamp Fairtex made a triumphant return to her home country and picked up a US$50,000 performance bonus for her split-decision victory over Anna “Supergirl” Jaroonsak.
While she’s happy with her victory, Stamp never expected to face her 19-year-old compatriot in a strawweight kickboxing bout at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 13.
Instead, the former two-sport ONE World Champion was planning to square off with pound-for-pound kickboxing great Anissa Meksen in a mixed rules super-fight, a fight in which the rounds would alternate between Muay Thai and MMA.
But when “C18” failed to report for weigh-ins and “Supergirl’s” original opponent missed weight, ONE Championship officials scrambled to put together the new fight on just 24 hours’ notice.
Suddenly, Stamp found herself in the Circle against a dangerous opponent with significant height, weight, and reach advantages in a sport she hadn’t prepared to compete in.
After the fight, the 25-year-old spoke about the pluses and minuses of accepting the short-notice challenge.
Stamp said:
“It’s both an advantage and also a disadvantage. In my background in Muay Thai, I know how to punch and also throw a kick, but also in kickboxing, I cannot use elbows or knees. It’s an advantage for me because she is taller than me and she cannot use knees or elbows against me, so it kind of [works] two ways.”
The fight turned out to be a back-and-forth war from start to finish, bringing fans inside the Impact Arena to their feet countless times.
Throughout the bout, Stamp showed a fearless willingness to engage with her larger, heavier-hitting opponent.
According to the Thai superstar, that brawling approach was all about having fun and putting on a show.
She said:
“Yes, it was a lot of pressure for me because I [had] a few disadvantages in terms of the [height] and also with the weight class. I [thought] to myself that I [would] just do this and I [would] just have fun. And [it would] be like entertainment. Losing or winning, it [didn’t] matter.”
Stamp Fairtex Teases Return To The Striking Arts
After defeating Anna Jaroonsak, Stamp Fairtex now seems primed for a shot at the ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Title – a belt she previously held.
Prior to ONE Fight Night 6, the Fairtex Gym representative was scheduled to clash with Meksen for the interim crown, an announcement made just days before their mixed rules super-fight was supposed to go down.
However, with the French-Algerian striker not showing up to weigh-ins, Stamp is less than enthusiastic about booking that fight moving forward.
She said:
“I am not really looking forward to fighting with Anissa because I consider this unprofessional. I spent a lot of time looking for a new opponent in this event. So, I don’t really look forward to that again.”
As the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix Champion, the Thai native could find herself in a high-stakes mixed martial arts bout, potentially against reigning atomweight queen Angela Lee.
However, given the tragic passing of Lee’s 18-year-old sister, Victoria, Stamp said she plans to focus her efforts on capturing gold in the striking arts to give the Lee family time to grieve.
Stamp said:
“I would like to use this time to reclaim my title in kickboxing and Muay Thai because I still feel sad about what happened with Angela Lee and the Lee family. So, that will take a while, and after a while, I’ll go back to MMA for Angela Lee.”
