Former ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex has offered her most optimistic assessment yet regarding a potential return to active competition.
The Thai athlete has been absent from ONE since September 2023, when she delivered a stunning third-round knockout to Ham Seo Hee at ONE Fight Night 14 to secure the vacant ONE Women's Atomweight MMA World Title.
However, a serious knee problem forced her to withdraw from her scheduled defence of the crown at ONE 167 in June 2024, and that became what is now an extended period away.
Stamp is unsurprisingly eager to reestablish her dominance among ONE’s women’s atomweight ranks, but she is also realistic about committing to a fight before she’s fully ready.
"I think I'm going to use this next two months – this month and next month – to look at my knee first because right now it's full rehab," she told Bangkok Post's Nick Atkin.
"So I want to know how my knee is. If it's better, I can schedule. But I think this year, I can fight. I think in six months I can. But it's up to my knee also. I'm really hungry to fight already."
The extended layoff ultimately forced the three-sport queen to relinquish the atomweight MMA gold, prompting ONE Championship higher-ups to award it to former challenger Denice Zamboanga.
The decision to surrender the World Title was a difficult one for Stamp to come to, given her Herculean effort to capture it initially.
The 27-year-old acknowledged the emotional toll it took on her, but she expressed confidence about reclaiming her position once she’s cleared and ready to return.
"My emotions were very not okay because I felt like I trained really hard, fought really hard, to get the belt, and now, I easily gave it to her," Stamp admitted.
"It's better if I give my belt to her because everyone wants the belt, and everyone wants to be the champion. So, I just gave my belt first, and if everything is 100 percent, I will fight with her again."
