ONE Championship: Stamp Fairtex laughs off Alyse Anderson submission threat – ‘how?’
- Atomweight MMA contenders are set to meet at ONE Fight Night 10 this Friday in Denver, Colorado – the promotion’s first event in America
- An interim title fight with Ham Seo-hee could be next for winner, with champion Angela Lee out of action after death of sister Victoria
If Stamp Fairtex is worried about Alyse Anderson’s ground game, she is hiding it well.
The two atomweight MMA contenders are set to meet at ONE Championship Fight Night 10 this Friday in Denver, Colorado – the promotion’s first event on US soil.
Ahead of the fight, Anderson has repeatedly expressed confidence that she will win by submission, but the Thai striking specialist Stamp has full confidence in her defence.
“How?” the 25-year-old told the Post on Monday when asked about Anderson’s submission prediction. “It’s not going to be easy for her to submit me. I believe my defence is much better than hers.”
Stamp (9-2) formerly held ONE’s atomweight Muay Thai and kickboxing titles, and is currently the promotion’s No 1-ranked atomweight MMA contender.
The expectation is that, if she beats Anderson in Denver, she will be booked for an interim title fight with South Korean contender Ham Seo-hee, as ONE looks to keep the division moving while undisputed champion Angela Lee mourns her sister Victoria, who died last December.
It is an opportunity the Thai contender is looking forward to.
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“It will be an honour to me, if I win this fight, to fight Ham Seo-hee for the interim title,” she said. “I understand that Angela Lee might not be available for now.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen [in the match-up], but what I can say is it’s going to be fun,” she added.
Michigan-born Anderson (6-2) is unranked in ONE’s atomweight division, but could conceivably earn an interim title fight with Ham herself if she beats the No 1-ranked contender this Friday.
The 28-year-old is leery of looking past her coming fight, but admits she is also thinking about the belt.
“No matter what, I’m going to go and perform to the best of my ability, but it’s definitely in the back of my mind that could be next,” she told the Post. “[Ham] is a great fighter. She’s strong and that would also be a great match-up.”
Anderson is considered the underdog ahead of Friday’s fight, and fairly so, but she is confident she will silence her doubters.
She once again pointed to her grappling as her best weapon, but believes in her stand-up skills as well – skills she is likely to need against a striker of Stamp’s calibre.
“A fight’s a fight and it makes me just feel more eager to prove everyone wrong,” she said. “Im definitely more comfortable on the ground but I know that my strikes are also pretty good so I’m just going to have confidence everywhere.
“Me and Stamp are both really good fighters. We bring a lot tot he table and we’re going to put on a show.”
Stamp was last in action in January, when she defeated her countrywoman Supergirl Jaroonsak by decision in a short-notice kickboxing bout. Before that, she defeated fellow atomweight MMA contender Jihin Radzuan, also by decision.
Her victory over Radzuan separated her from a failed title bid against Lee, which saw her tap out to a second-round rear-naked choke after stinging the champion with a body shot in round one.
Anderson has not fought since she defeated India’s Asha Roka by first-round submission in May 2022. In her next most recent fight, she lost a contentious unanimous decision to Japanese star Itsuki Hirata.
