{"id":394185,"date":"2026-01-06T00:09:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T00:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/394185\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T00:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T00:09:07","slug":"im-proud-of-myself-stamp-fairtex-reflects-on-2025-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/394185\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I\u2019m Proud Of Myself\u2019 \u2013 Stamp Fairtex Reflects On 2025 Comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stamp Fairtex<\/a> spent 2025 working toward a pivotal moment in her illustrious career.<\/p>\n

The calendar year didn\u2019t deliver World Title fights or viral knockouts for ONE Championship\u2019s first-ever three-sport queen. However, what it produced was something just as meaningful and incredibly compelling \u2013 the opening chapter of her comeback story.<\/p>\n

Before she faced former K-1 Champion Kana \u201cKrusher Queen\u201d Morimoto<\/a> in an atomweight kickboxing clash at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri<\/a> inside Tokyo\u2019s Ariake Arena last November, the Thai megastar was on a long road to recovery.<\/p>\n

Stamp originally captured the vacant ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Title<\/a> by knocking out decorated Asian MMA Champion Ham Seo Hee<\/a> at ONE Fight Night 14<\/a> in September 2023.<\/p>\n

The Thai even had her first defense scheduled against her friend and ex-training partner, Denice \u201cThe Menace\u201d Zamboanga<\/a>, for ONE 167<\/a> in June 2024.<\/p>\n

But a month before showtime, she suffered a torn meniscus<\/a> in camp that forced her to the sidelines.<\/p>\n

That path to recovery<\/a> stretched far longer than anyone had anticipated, as it was filled with physical therapy sessions, rehabilitation work, and moments of doubt that tested her resolve.<\/p>\n

And just when Stamp finally seemed good enough to step back into the ring and face Zamboanga in a ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Title unification match in May 2025, fate intervened yet again.<\/p>\n

She reflected:<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought my knee had recovered, but in reality, it wasn\u2019t 100 percent yet. There were moments of frustration, but never enough to make me give up. I felt like I hadn\u2019t taken good enough care of my body, so I went back to focusing 100 percent on physical therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another setback would have broken most fighters. For the 28-year-old, it became an opportunity to demonstrate the character that defines true World Champions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rather than cling to the gold, the Fairtex Training Center product vacated<\/a> the ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Championship, elevating Zamboanga \u2013 who beat Alyona Rassohyna<\/a> to claim the interim crown at ONE 170<\/a> in January 2025 \u2013 to undisputed status.<\/p>\n

Stamp said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI was happy for Denice because I know how hard she works, though I did feel a bit of regret giving it up so easily, considering I put in blood, sweat, and tears to earn it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I wanted the division to move forward. I vacated the title because I felt it was only fair to give others a chance to compete. However, I believe that if it\u2019s meant to be mine, it will find its way back to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

That selfless act spoke volumes about Stamp\u2019s character. The World Title she\u2019d fought so hard to claim was gone, but the opportunity to prove she still belonged remained.<\/p>\n

After 778 days away from competition, the Thai superstar stepped back into the spotlight on enemy soil at the massive ONE 173 card against Kana. Though she suffered a unanimous decision loss, she walked away from Tokyo viewing the performance as exactly what she needed.<\/p>\n

Stamp said:<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I didn\u2019t win, I\u2019m not disappointed. It was just a warm-up fight, and I\u2019m satisfied with my physical condition to a certain extent.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost importantly, my knee didn\u2019t hurt. Overall, I did a good job for a comeback. I\u2019m proud of myself for getting back into the ring. Even though it was scary and filled with anxiety, I overcame it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stamp Fairtex Sums Up 2025, Eyes Future Zamboanga Clash<\/p>\n

For an athlete who spent two years wondering if she\u2019d ever compete again, simply making it through nine minutes against Kana Morimoto in Japan without her knee acting up represented a huge win.<\/p>\n

The fear that had lived in Stamp Fairtex\u2019s mind during every training session \u2013 the anxiety that one wrong movement could send her back to square one \u2013 had been conquered.<\/p>\n

She continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt very nervous and excited. I think I was a bit rusty because I hadn\u2019t fought in such a long time. My mind knew what strikes to throw, but my body wouldn\u2019t follow \u2026 probably due to fatigue as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to reflect on 2025 as a whole, the historic three-sport queen didn\u2019t solely focus on her return, the setbacks she overcame, or the defeat inside the Japanese capital.<\/p>\n

Instead, she celebrated accomplishing goals that extended beyond martial arts.<\/p>\n

Stamp offered:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOverall, it was a great year. I\u2019m back in the ring where I belong and have achieved all the goals I set for myself \u2013 returning to competition, taking my family on an overseas trip, and planning for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

But make no mistake, the Thai megastar\u2019s competitive fire burns brighter than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stamp is determined to prove that she belongs at the top of the division, and she is still very interested in facing Zamboanga at some point.<\/p>\n

The Fairtex Training Center product said:<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, I still want to fight. Denice is another opponent who would be a very challenging and exciting match for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stamp Fairtex spent 2025 working toward a pivotal moment in her illustrious career. The calendar year didn\u2019t deliver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-394185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}