ONE Championship has a superstar on its hands. Stamp Fairtex has all of the ingredients to be a global force. The Thai star showed all of those traits in a dazzling second-round knockout performance over Alyse Anderson at ONE Fight Night 10, which is available for free replay on Prime Video.
But it was not an easy night for Stamp. Anderson challenged and pushed her early and even threw up a triangle choke attempt on the ground. However, Stamp showed her grappling improvements by defending well and waiting until the right time to disengage.
“So the triangle wasn’t really on because it was on my head, and then I just bided my time to pull my head out, so I just bought some time. I wasn’t in any danger because my arm wasn’t in there,” Stamp said at the ONE Fight Night 10 post-event press conference.
The finish came when Anderson broke away from the clinch in the second round. As soon as there was space, Stamp landed a devastating kick to the body. Anderson crumpled to the mat, and the referee made the save.
The U.S. audience rose to its feet as Stamp celebrated. Chants of her name echoed throughout the 1stBank Center, and fans were excited to try and shake hands as she made her way to the back. It was a breakout moment for the Thai athlete in the U.S.
“I was very surprised and very inspired when the crowd noise was just going crazy when I came out. It gave her so much energy to perform,” ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong translated.
For the former two-sport World Champion, Stamp was happy to showcase her Muay Thai in her mixed martial arts battle on American soil. The finishing technique was simply instinctual on her part. After many years of focusing on becoming one of the very best strikers on the planet, she knew exactly what to do at the right moment.
“In Muay Thai, it’s common practice right, so when someone’s in close range when someone breaks, you fire off a weapon, so it was instinct, it was years and years of training,” said Stamp.
The victory earned her a shot at the ONE Interim Atomweight World Championship. Ham Seo Hee will be her next opponent in MMA as the South Korean earned her spot earlier this year. However, Stamp was adamant she does not view Ham as her toughest challenge, even though she is a long-time veteran of the sport.
“I will say Angela Lee is much tougher. She’s the toughest opponent I’ve faced, actually,” said the Thai star.
No date has been set for the interim title tilt, but it puts Stamp back on the path toward her ultimate goal of becoming a three-sport World Champion. In the post-match interview in the Circle, she made it clear she wants to compete for all three belts. That message of following one’s dreams was restated at the press conference as a statement to any young women looking to achieve greatness.
“You have to truly love what you do and just never give up, it’s very simple advice, but I just truly love what I do,” said Stamp.
