Rivalries: Nong Stamp Fairtex

Nong Stamp has already made history as the first multi-discipline One Championship titleholder. Her quest for a record third belt continues this week.

The 25-year-old Thai better known as “Stamp Fairtex” squares off with Alyse Anderson in an atomweight (115-pound) matchup at One on Prime Video 10 on May 5, in Broomfield, Colo. Stamp made her mark as a 21-year-old by winning the ONE atomweight muay thai championship against Janet Todd at One Championship “Call to Greatness” on Feb. 22, 2019. Having won the ONE atomweight kickboxing title four months previously at One Championship “Kingdom of Heroes,” she became the first fighter in promotional history to win titles in two different categories. Unsurprisingly for a young woman who had trained in muay thai from childhood, success in MMA was not quite as quick in coming, but Stamp has remained a factor in the division even as her ground game has made major strides to catch up to her prodigious striking.

As Stamp makes final preparations to dance her way down the ramp on Friday, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape her career to this point:

Janet Todd

While Stamp’s place in ONE history will always be secure as a simultaneous champ in kickboxing and muay thai, it is only fair to point out that she did not hold on to either title for long. In particular, her rivalry with Todd was instructive—and entertaining. Their first meeting, at One Championship “Call to Greatness” on Feb. 22, 2019, was a fantastic five-round scrap for the vacant ONE 115-pound muay thai title, with Stamp prevailing by unanimous decision. The rematch at One Championship “King of the Jungle” took place a year later and under kickboxing rules, which Todd used to her best advantage. While both women had clearly done their homework since the first fight, Todd avoided Stamp’s big power punches, threw plentiful high kicks and plied a busy jab in 8-ounce gloves to earn a close split decision. Stamp would compete a few more times as a striker and remained one of One’s top competitors in those disciplines, but her future lay in MMA.

Alyona Rassohyna

Heading into her clash with Rassohyna at One Championship “Unbreakable 3” on Jan. 22, 2021, in Singapore, the “Stamp Fairtex” MMA experiment had been all smiles. In the midst of winning those ONE striking titles, Stamp had begun her mixed martial arts career with five straight wins, displaying the expected chops on the feet and in the clinch, and even showing flashes of a developing ground game in wins over Asha Roka and Bi Nguyen. The first Rassohyna fight was a rude awakening, however, as the Ukrainian grappling specialist proved too skilled, too strong, too experienced and simply too good for Stamp, largely dominating the action en route to a guillotine choke submission in Round 3. The rising star’s undefeated MMA record was history.

Stamp went back to the drawing board, however, and when they rematched seven months later in an atomweight grand prix quarterfinal at One Championship “Empower,” it was a whole different affair. The split decision verdict does not adequately convey the shock of witnessing Stamp in Round 1, taking back mount and fighting for a rear-naked choke as the bell sounded. Rassohyna had her share of success as well, scoring some emphatic takedowns and placing Stamp in peril on the ground, but the rematch—and the series—serve, in hindsight, as an indicator of just how seriously Stamp was taking her MMA career.

Ritu Phogat

If there is one moment that can be pointed to as Stamp’s final transition from striker to mixed martial artist, it may be her win over Phogat at One Championship “Winter Warriors,” on Dec. 3, 2021. While Stamp already sported a submission win on her record coming into that matchup, “The Indian Tigress” represented an entirely different challenge on the ground, as a representative of India’s first family of wrestling and a former Commonwealth Games gold medalist. The fight, which served as the final of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix, played out early on as a striker-versus-grappler matchup, as Stamp successfully fought off Phogat’s initial takedown attempts. In the second round, Phogat quickly secured a solid takedown, but Stamp took over immediately, sweeping the wrestler, then advancing position and chaining submission attempts on her way to an easy looking tapout. Stamp’s MMA matriculation—and a date with the reigning champ—were in the books.

Angela Lee

Stamp’s grand prix win earned her a shot at lineal champ Lee, one of the promotion’s signature stars and most dominant competitors. They met at ONE: X, on March 26, 2022, with Lee’s title on the line. It did not go the way of “Stamp Fairtex,” as Lee parlayed her size, experience and superior wrestling into a Round 2 submission win. Lee went on from that victory to a second unsuccessful attempt to win the 125-pound title from her own nemesis, Jingnan Xiong, but remains the ONE atomweight champ. Another shot at Lee may be on the line for Stamp this week at One on Prime Video 10.