Stamp Fairtex does not seem interested in meeting her former training partner Denice Zamboanga in the ONE Championship Circle. At least, not yet.
Stamp, the martial arts promotion’s No 1-ranked atomweight MMA contender, has responded to Zamboanga’s latest call-out, and while she did not shut the potential match-up down completely, she demanded her rival avenge two recent decision losses to South Korean veteran Ham Seo-hee before it happens.
“Tell her to beat Ham Seo-hee first,” the Thai star said in a video posted to Instagram. “She lost to her twice. Beat her first, then let’s talk.”
Filipino Zamboanga (9-2) made her latest call for a fight with Stamp (9-2) after a unanimous-decision victory over China’s Lin Heqin at ONE on Prime Video 5 earlier this month in Manila. The win separated the 25-year-old from her back-to-back decision losses to Ham.
“I have interest in taking the No 1 rank, which belongs to my very close friend Stamp Fairtex,” she said. “If I beat her, I can challenge the champion.”
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While there seems to be some competitive tension brewing between Stamp and Zamboanga, the latter has repeatedly emphasised that she and the Thai are still good friends, and that a potential fight would only be about business and giving the fans what they want.
“We’re friends, we’re close, we’re still talking with each other,” Zamboanga told the Post in Manila before her victory over Lin. “We’re good friends. It’s really hard, but it’s business, and a lot of people want to see it.”
Stamp and Zamboanga trained at Fairtex Training Centre in Pattaya, Thailand for several years, until the Filipino moved her training to Marrok Force in Bangkok, and ultimately, to her brother Drex’s T-Rex Mixed Martial Arts Training Center outside Manila.
While Zamboanga is still awaiting her next opponent, 25-year-old Stamp is a few weeks out from a very unusual challenge.
The Thai will meet striking stand-out Anissa Meksen in a special rules clash at ONE on Prime Video 6 on January 14 in Bangkok. The bout will switch between Muay Thai and MMA rules over four rounds, starting with the former.
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