Stamp Fairtex is excited to be competing on ONE Championship’s first fight card in the United States, and said she wants to wow the fans in Colorado with a highlight-reel finish.
Stamp takes on America’s Alyse Anderson in an atomweight MMA matchup on Friday, May 5 in Broomfield, and the Thai starlet is looking forward to showcasing her style to a new audience.
“I’m really excited to be part of the fight card at ONE’s first event in the USA. I’m really happy to be here,” she said.
“It’s crazy that the tickets sold out! I am so glad that the American fans are interested to watch this event and that they will watch me fight.”
Ahead of their bout, Stamp’s opponent Anderson has highlighted the grappling realm as her best route to victory. Stamp agreed, saying that she is aware of the shortfall in her skillset in that area, but said that she’s working hard to close up the holes in her all-round MMA game.
“I will not argue with her about this. She is right, because I’m a striker,” Stamp admitted.
“But don’t forget that in every fight, we have to stand first before hitting the ground.
“I think my ground game has improved a lot. For this upcoming fight, I went training with my former coach, DJ Jackson, who hasn’t seen me for years. He said that he was surprised by my progress. I believe that I have improved through my consistent practice.
“I think I have improved more in defense. I can defend submissions better. But even though I have a purple belt, I still think that I need to improve my submission skills more, because I still can’t shake Muay Thai out of my game, I have to go deeper in BJJ.”
Stamp did smile when she was told that Anderson also fancied her chances against her in the striking exchanges, and the former Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion said she’d welcome the chance to showcase her stand-up skills against her.
“Good! I won’t be shy to go toe-to-toe with her, either,” she said.
“If we can trade, we trade. I got a chance to watch only her two fights in ONE. I think her striking is still not on par with mine. But I will not be careless. She might have improved her striking to handle me.”
It’s a fight that Stamp hopes will catapult her back toward a title shot, and a rematch with Angela Lee, and the Thai ace said she’s targeting a spectacular victory to underline her championship credentials on May 5.
“I want to win by knockout because I’m addicted to the cheering noise from the audience when I beat someone,” she said.
“This is also my debut fight in the US, so I want to give them the best performance I can. And if I win, it will be another proof that I am one of the world’s top MMA fighters. I would be very satisfied to beat her in her home (land).
“I think that my win over Alyse would give me enough credit to take a shot at the gold again. And I think I will get more fans and hope that the Americans will love me.”
And, in addition to her spectacular fighting style, Stamp also has plans to entertain the crowd on her way to the Circle, with her famed dance, “The Stamp Dance,” set to get a special American twist for fight night in Colorado.
“I’ve prepared a Thai country folk dance… Just kidding! I will reveal it on fight day!” she said.
“I have something in mind, but I haven’t started practicing my dance yet!”