ONE Championship Fight Night 14: Stamp Fairtex and Ham Seo-hee wish Angela Lee well ahead of interim MMA title bout
- Lee, ONE’s undisputed atomweight champion, has not fought since her sister Victoria took her own life in December of last year
- Stamp and Ham will battle for interim gold at Saturday event in Singapore, and have undisputed champ in their thoughts in the lead-up
It will be Stamp Fairtex and Ham Seo-hee’s names on the marquee at this Saturday’s ONE Championship Fight Night 14 event in Singapore, but ahead of the event, many eyes are locked on Angela Lee.
Lee, ONE’s undisputed atomweight MMA champion, has been out of action since her sister Victoria, also a ONE fighter, took her own life last December. The champion’s fighting future has been uncertain since that tragedy, which is what led ONE to book an interim atomweight title fight between Thailand’s Stamp (10-2) and South Korean Ham (26-8).
“What the audience sees of the fighters on TV is a small part of what they go through behind the scenes,” Ham, 36, told the Post in Singapore. “Every person has their own struggles. When I read the new about Angela Lee and the tragedy of what happened with her family, I felt sadness. I feel for her a lot.”
The 26-year-old Stamp was submitted by Lee in a 2022 title fight. Despite sharing the ONE Circle, they have a close relationship, and this week in Singapore, crossed paths for the first time since Victoria’s death.
“It was very emotional,” Stamp told the Post of their reunion. “It was the first time I have met Angela since her sister passed away, so I just wanted to let her know that I will be here to support her. I love her, and she’s still my idol. If she needs anything in life, whether she wants to continue fighting or not, I will always support her.”
Lee is in Singapore to make a public announcement at ONE Fight Night 14. The details of the champion’s announcement are unclear, but the expectation is that she will provide an update on her future in the sport.
No matter Lee’s plans, the winner of Stamp and Ham’s interim title fight will be the women ONE’s many dangerous atomweight contenders are chasing.
Ham, who has already won belts in Rizin, Road FC, and Jewels, believes her fight with Stamp could be her final opportunity to compete for a major title.
“If I achieve one thing, I’m always ready to chase another,” she said. “I’ve lived my life with all of these challenges and victories, and I see this as the final one, the final challenge that I can undergo. That’s why I see it as an important moment for me.”
For Stamp, the fight is a second chance, after she was defeated by Lee in her first bid at an MMA title.
ONE: Stamp thinks Angela Lee is ‘much tougher’ than Ham
“My goal is to win,” she said. “I’m not sure if it will be with a submission or by KO, but my main goal is to win. Of course, winning with some kind of special weapon would be nice, but we’ll see.”
ONE fans are divided on the outcome of Stamp and Ham’s fight, as both women are excellent strikers with underrated ground games.
One detail of the match-up that could become a factor is the 10-year-age gap between the pair, but Ham contends she trains so hard that her age will not be a factor.
“I was always a little bit conscious of the fact that she’s a lot younger than I am, but it turns out many fighters at ONE Championship are a lot younger than I am,” Ham said. “I’m just more mature. I’ve been around the game for a longer time. I’ve come to terms with all of that. How I move forward with that is to train harder. If I train hard, I can still win.”
Stamp has also been hard at work in the gym, and has enlisted her former opponent Jihin Radzuan to help her prepare for Ham.
“I think Ham Seo-hee, her style is quite similar to Jihin,” she said. “I’m training with Jihin and she’s role playing as Ham Seo-hee, using southpaw weapons and coming right at me.”
