ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex was initially scheduled to defend her title against her friend and former training partner, Denice Zamboanga, at ONE 167. However, a torn meniscus injury forced her to withdraw from the fight. After undergoing surgery, Stamp is currently recovering and undergoing physical therapy to return to action. Recently, Matt Lucas, the director of public relations at Fairtex Gym, shared a glimpse of her progress on Instagram.

According to Lucas, Stamp’s recovery has surpassed the initial stage, and she is now under the close supervision of Felix Peters of the Rehab & Performance Physiotherapy Experts in Pattaya. Her parents drive her to the clinic, enduring a two-hour journey from their rural home in Chonburi. 

“She does her exercises while the world around her moves by. In her absence, an interim belt is up for grabs. She will fight the winner,” Lucas wrote in the caption. 

In the video, it appears that Stamp is moving better, but doesn’t appear to be in fighting form just yet. She may be a long way from competing at a high level for now. Lucas shared a quote from Felix Peters on what stage they are now in Stamp’s recovery process.

“Now we’re having her walk normally. But we have to manage the load. We don’t want to go too far too fast,” he said. In May, while preparing to face her close friend Denice Zamboanga, Stamp Fairtex sustained an injury during a sparring session. She attributed the injury to the size between herself and her sparring partner. Stamp explained that when her sparring partner lifted her, her legs remained grounded.

As her partner turned her around, she heard a bone-twisting sound, causing the injury. After Stamp withdrew from ONE 167 due to injury, Thai-French fighter Noelle Grandjean stepped in as a replacement. Denice Zamboanga won that fight. With Stamp’s return uncertain, Zamboanga has been granted a title shot against Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight MMA World Championship at ONE Fight Night 25 on October 4th.

Denice Zamboanga’s next quest: ONE Interim World Title

In the absence of the divisional champion, Stamp Fairtex, the stacked division’s hunger for a title persists. To fulfill that demand, ONE Championship introduced an interim belt to be contested by two highly ranked contenders. Zamboanga currently boasts a three-fight winning streak following two consecutive defeats against Ham Seo Hee, first at ONE: EMPOWER and then a few months later at ONE X.

Meanwhile, Alyona Rassohyna is one of only two fighters to defeat Stamp Fairtex in an MMA competition. The 34-year-old shocked Stamp with a late submission victory at ONE: UNBREAKABLE III in February 2021. However, the Thai star got her revenge in the quarterfinals of the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Grand Prix a year later at ONE: EMPOWER. 

A victory over Denice Zamboanga in the upcoming interim title fight at ONE Fight Night 25 would set up a potential trilogy with Stamp for the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Championship. With Stamp Fairtex’s return remaining uncertain, her fight against China’s Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Title has been removed from the ONE 168: Denver card. 

Whether Stamp returns for a World Title unification bout against the winner of Zamboanga and Rassohyna or continues her quest for a second World Title, we will keep you updated on this space.