MANILA, Philippines — Having won world titles in both Muay Thai and kickboxing, Stamp Fairtex has her sights set on another belt, this time, in mixed martial arts where she’s undefeated so far.
Stamp, though, wouldn’t mind if a teammate of hers gets a shot at the ONE atomweight belt before she does.
The 22-year-old Stamp believes Filipino Denice Zamboanga should be next in line against atomweight champion Angela Lee.
“In my opinion, Denice is a fantastic and well-rounded athlete – especially in striking, and showed she’s better than Mei. I look forward to seeing her fight for the title soon,” Stamp said of Zamboanga, whom she considers as one of her best friends.
Zamboanga is off to a hot start in his MMA career, winning all of her seven fights so far.
The 23-year-old Zamboanga built a strong case for a potential title shot with her biggest win yet by beating former contender Mei Yamaguchi of Japan via unanimous decision two months ago in Singapore.
Stamp is also not worried about the possibility of the two of them crossing paths as they both have similar aspirations of being the top fighter in the same division.
“I think it’s ok for both of us, because it means we are both the top athletes in this weight class who can compete with Angela Lee,” said Stamp, who lost her atomweight kickboxing title to USA’s Janet Todd by split decision last February.
“I think Denice will be the right opponent (for Angela) having beaten Mei in her last fight. If she beats Angela, I would be proud of her, but if she loses, then no worries, I’ll get revenge for her.”
“If one day me and Denice compete against each other, we both know that we’re going to try our best on stage, and once we’ve done our job, we’ll always remain best friends.”