ONE Atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex was delighted to see good friend and No. 2-ranked contender Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga walk away victorious at ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut II this past weekend.
Zamboanga impressed everyone in attendance at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, as she dominated Noelle “Lil Monkey” Grandjean in their three-round atomweight bout, proving indeed that she deserves to challenge Stamp in the future.
READ: Denice Zamboanga proves worthy of ONE title shot once more
While the 26-year-old Stamp expected Zamboanga to finish the fight, she was nonetheless impressed with the performance of the T-Rex MMA standout, who never really looked to be in trouble.
“Congratulations to you my dearest friend,” Stamp said.
“At first, I thought this fight would end with a knockout because Denice has been training for quite a longtime.”
At the same time, Stamp also tipped her hat to her former training partner Grandjean, who gamely stepped up on short notice and hung tough against a determined Zamboanga.
“Noelle only had two weeks to prepare and had just fought a few weeks before the fight. I admire [her] very much, and in this fight, Noelle did well,” she said.
Let's do this - for real, this time
The victory vanquished all doubt - if any - about Zamboanga’s spot as the next title challenger, and Stamp felt the same way.
There's still no word as to when the Fairtex Training Center star will return from her torn meniscus, but she promises to recover quickly and give the Filipina her long-delayed shot.
“Denice, I will fight you soon,” Stamp said. “I’ll try to recover quickly until my body returns to 100 percent and defend my belt in my next fight with you.”
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