Stamp Fairtex returns from a career-threatening knee injury with one specific technique haunting her preparation more than anything else Kana Morimoto brings.<\/p>\n
The former three-sport ONE World Champion faces the four-time K-1 Champion in atomweight kickboxing action at ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri<\/a>. This goes down on Sunday, November 16, inside Ariake Arena at Tokyo, Japan. The 27-year-old spent two years rehabilitating<\/a> from a torn meniscus that forced her to relinquish the ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Title. The fight falls on her birthday, making the return even more symbolic.<\/p>\n Stamp chose kickboxing for her comeback rather than immediately diving back into MMA\u2019s all-encompassing demands. She wants to test her endurance, timing, and striking without the added complexity of grappling after such an extended layoff. The Thai megastar recognizes Kana as the best kickboxer in Japan, making her the perfect measuring stick.<\/p>\n Her analysis of the Japanese veteran reveals both respect and calculated confidence. Stamp identified Kana\u2019s lightning-quick hands and in-and-out movement as her greatest strengths. However, she also spotted exploitable defensive lapses during those transitions. The Fairtex Training Center product believes her power can dictate the fight\u2019s terms if she times her counters correctly.<\/p>\n One technique stands above all others in Stamp\u2019s mind as she prepares for battle. Despite studying all of Kana\u2019s weapons extensively, including her dangerous punching combinations and calf kicks that Japanese fighters favor, the spinning back kick represents the only move that genuinely concerns her heading into Tokyo.<\/p>\n \u201cHer most dangerous weapons, I feel, are probably her punches and the calf kicks she has, because all Japanese fighters have those. I\u2019m only scared of one move, the spinning back kick,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key to winning this time, I think, will be my power \u2013 like kicking her hard enough to stop her, to make her flinch. That\u2019s what I have to do. I plan to kick her arms until they\u2019re crushed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Stamp Fairtex uses kickboxing to rebuild competitive rhythm<\/p>\n Stamp Fairtex spent two years wondering whether her body would cooperate again. The former ONE World Champion traded heavy bags for rehab rooms, transforming daily striking sessions into careful stretches that tested patience more than technique.<\/p>\n Her torn meniscus derailed plans to defend the MMA title multiple times. Setbacks pushed her September 2024 return target back repeatedly. Plans to challenge Xiong Jing Nan for strawweight MMA gold at ONE 168 collapsed when her knee refused cooperation. Medical approval finally arrived months later than expected.<\/p>\n Kickboxing offers her a measured step back into elite competition. She wants to evaluate her mental state, physical condition, and endurance without immediately facing the complete demands of mixed martial arts. Her camp at Fairtex Training Center focused on rebuilding muscle mass lost during surgery and reclaiming the explosiveness that once made her a multi-sport dynamo.<\/p>\n The timing holds special significance beyond her birthday celebration. Stamp recognizes this fight as a statement that she has recovered, learned, and is ready to compete at the highest level again. She refuses to be remembered as just a name in the record books after everything she accomplished before injury struck.<\/p>\n \u201cI decided to go for kickboxing before MMA because I wanted to warm up my body first. I\u2019ve been away for two years, and the muscle I lost after the surgery is all gone,\u201d Stamp said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I want to show in this fight is that I\u2019m still here. I\u2019m not just a stepping stone for you to cross over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stamp Fairtex returns from a career-threatening knee injury with one specific technique haunting her preparation more than anything…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,33503,1865,82,18534],"class_list":{"0":"post-251868","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-one-173","13":"tag-one-championship","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-stamp-fairtex"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}