Stamp Fairtex’s first defense of her ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title is locked in. The Thai megastar faces her friend and former training partner Denice Zamboanga on June 7. The blockbuster event is set to go down at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, but air live in U.S. primetime.
The pair were originally scheduled to lock horns at ONE 166: Qatar earlier this month, but now they have a new date. Stamp made history in her most recent bout this past September.
With a crushing third-round TKO win over South Korean star Ham Seo Hee, the 26-year-old became the first fighter to ever win World Titles in three separate sports. She had previously reigned as ONE’s women’s atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing queen.
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Zamboanga is currently the second-ranked women’s atomweight fighter in the world. “The Menace” comes into the biggest fight of her career having won her last two fights, the most recent being a dominant three-round win over Brazil’s Julie Mezabarba. But the fight promises to be an intriguing spectacle for reasons that extend beyond the Circle.
Stamp Fairtex dishes on good friend and future foe
The friendship between Stamp Fairtex and her next opponent, Denice Zamboanga, looms as an interesting storyline ahead of their fight in Bangkok. Zamboanga will bring a unique insight into Stamp’s game, given that the pair shared the training mats for some time at Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand. In a recent interview with SCMP MMA, Stamp revealed that it wasn’t a shock to be fighting her friend.
“I’m excited because this is the first time that I’m defending my belt, and she is also my friend,” Stamp said. “I never talked about it with her before, but we always had this on the back of our minds, that once she leaves the gym then [a fight between us] could happen.”
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Zamboanga now represents T-Rex MMA in her native Philippines, but the friendship between her and Stamp has endured. That will all be put to one side in June, however, as Zamboanga looks to bring her friend’s historic run to an end.