Stamp Fairtex against Ritu Phogat is a win-win for ONE Championship in atomweight grand prix final
- The pair collide at ONE: Winter Warriors on Friday in Singapore, with a crack at atomweight champ Angela Lee on the line
- Asian promotion will benefit no matter who comes out on top, as either woman will be an alluring match-up for ‘Unstoppable’
Win-win situations don’t come along often in combat sports, but that’s precisely what ONE Championship will have on its hands when Stamp Fairtex and Ritu Phogat collide in the Circle in Singapore on Friday night.
Thailand’s Stamp and India’s Phogat, both 7-1 in MMA, will meet in the co-main event of the stacked ONE: Winter Warriors card. The bout will serve as the finale of ONE’s injury-ravaged atomweight grand prix, and the winner will earn a crack at the division’s long-reigning queen, Angela Lee, who is preparing to return to action after the birth of her first child.
No fight promoter would ever admit it, but when big bouts like Stamp v Phogat transpire, there’s usually one outcome that’s just better for business. Most of the time, it’s a win for the more marketable or popular fighter.
In this case, however, you’re unlikely to catch any ONE executives wringing their hands backstage, quietly hoping for one outcome or another, as a win for either woman will open the door to a blockbuster fight for the promotion.
That’s due in part to the fact 25-year-old Canadian-American champion Lee (10-2), the woman awaiting Friday’s winner, is one of ONE’s most popular and most established fighters. Throw in that “Unstoppable” will be returning from a prolonged absence, and her fans are likely to be more engaged than ever before.
Yet it’s also due to the fact that both Stamp and Phogat look like perfect dance partners for Lee.
Stamp, 24, is a striker by trade, with upwards of 80 Muay Thai bouts to her name. That skill set alone makes her a tough test for Lee, who is a grappler first and foremost.
Yet Stamp also has a reputation to rival the champion’s. The Thai is an established name in ONE herself, having previously held the promotion’s atomweight kick-boxing and Muay Thai titles. And while she’s since lost those belts, she’s made no secret of her goal of winning gold in MMA to become ONE’s first three-sport champion – a storyline that makes her potential fight with Lee all the more intriguing.
“If I had a chance to fight [Lee] it would be like fighting with my idol,” Stamp told the Post last year. “It would be an honour and I know I have a lot of hard work ahead before that happens. She’s a great athlete. She has it all, from her ground game to her striking.”
The 27-year-old “Indian Tigress” Phogat, meanwhile, is a former national wrestling champion, and one of the few atomweights in ONE with the skills to trouble Lee on the mat. She’s also a massive star back home.
MMA has yet to catch on in India the way it has in many other countries, but as Phogat continues to progress in the sport, and ONE continues to push into the Indian market, it feels like an explosion in popularity is imminent. Phogat winning the ONE atomweight title could be the spark for that explosion, much like Zhang Weili winning a UFC belt was in China. That’s a very interesting storyline in its own right.
“I know I have to fight Angela Lee, and I’m laser focused on it,” Phogat told the Post recently. “I’m making sure my hard work is on point. I know after Stamp I’ll have to face Angela but I’m totally OK with it and I’m looking forward to it.”
“In fact, in this fight I will show the world I’m the best,” Phogat added. “You can easily put me against Angela Lee. ‘The Indian Tigress’ will not let her fans down.”
ONE Championship fans are divided on the outcome of Friday’s co-main event, and as ever, there’s no way to know how it will all shake out until they’re in the Circle together.
What is abundantly clear is that, no matter who emerges victorious, ONE Championship will win. Whether it’s Lee vs Stamp with the Thai’s goal of three-sport glory on the line, or Lee vs Phogat with throngs of Indian fans watching on, the promotion will enter the new year with all of the pieces for a massive atomweight title fight firmly in place.
