Stamp Fairtex To Defend ONE Atomweight MMA World Title vs. Denice Zamboanga At ONE 166: Qatar

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The date for Stamp Fairtex's first ONE Women's Atomweight MMA World Title defense has been set, and it takes place when ONE Championship ventures to Qatar for the very first time.

Stamp returns at ONE 166: Qatar on Friday, 1 March, when the world's largest martial arts organization takes over the Lusail Sports Arena. She not only has to defend her crown for the first time, but the Thai sensation does so against good friend Denice Zamboanga.

Considering the pair's friendship and history as training partners at Fairtex Training Center, this will put a unique spin on the atomweight MMA showdown when the duo lock horns this coming March.

Stamp has shown the ability to cast her emotions aside when the bell rings, though. She proved this when claiming the prestigious gold last September at ONE Fight Night 14 against Ham Seo Hee.

All eyes were on Stamp and Ham, but the 26-year-old could not be shaken as she earned the third-round TKO to claim the vacant gold belt which was relinquished earlier that night by atomweight great "Unstoppable" Angela Lee.

In claiming the ONE Atomweight MMA World Title, Stamp made history as the first-ever three-sport ONE World Champion, having previously worn the weight bracket's Muay Thai and kickboxing crowns.

The monumental achievement put Stamp in a league of her own, seeing her become ONE Championship's 2023 MMA Fighter of the Year. Now, on 1 March, the combat sports queen's next chapter begins against a close friend who is on the hunt to cut Stamp's reign short.

As a matter of fact, Zamboanga might just know Stamp's game better than anybody else. "The Menace" trained alongside Stamp at Pattaya's renowned Fairtex Training Center from 2019 to 2020. The pair sharpened one another's iron as they continued to climb the atomweight rankings.

During that time, Zamboanga debuted in ONE Championship and strung three wins together in the division to make a name for herself. Her surge floundered, however, after dropping back-to-back decisions to Ham, but the Filipino star has since regained momentum with two wins.

These victories placed her as the #2-ranked contender in the division. And the third time might just be the charm as she plans to overthrow Stamp as queen of the atomweight realm.

In total five titles will be defended on the night in Qatar as it stands. Here is a look at the full card for ONE 166: Qatar after the addition of Stamp vs Zamboanga:

ONE 166 Card

• Middleweight World Championship Bout: Reinier de Ridder (c) vs. Anatoly Malykhin
• Strawweight World Championship Bout: Jarred Brooks (c) vs. Joshua Pacio
• Featherweight World Championship Bout: Tang Kai (c) vs. Thanh Le (ic)
• Women's Atomweight World Championship Bout: Stamp Fairtex (c) vs. Denice Zamboanga
• Welterweight Submission Grappling World Championship Bout: Tye Ruotolo (c) vs. Izaak Michell
• Heavyweight Bout: Arjan Bhullar vs. Amir Aliakbari
• Flyweight Submission Grappling Bout: Osamah Almarwai vs. Cleber Sousa