Stamp Fairtex-Seo Hee Ham a Generational Clash Atop ONE on Prime Video 14 Bill

Who DO YOU have claiming the ONE Interim Women's Atomweight MMA World Championship on September 29 at ONE Fight Night 14?#ONEFightNight14 | Friday at 8PM ET
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch live on Prime 👉 https://t.co/Il4tPmkSbR
🌍 Live TV broadcast in 190+ countries (check local listings) pic.twitter.com/eZQsZBT5V5

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 27, 2023

Stamp Fairtex will look to make history as a three-sport world champion when she faces Seo Hee Ham for the interim One Championship women’s atomweight title in the ONE on Prime Video 14 main event on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Having already captured gold in muay thai and kickboxing, Fairtex now sets her sights on mixed martial arts.

Fairtex can draw upon past history, as she fell short in her first bid for an MMA championship. The 25-year-old lost to reigning atomweight titleholder Angela Lee in March 2022 but has since improved her all-around game. With back-to-back wins over Jihin Radzuan and Alyse Anderson, she believes she has made the necessary adjustments to become a champion in mixed martial arts.

“My fight with Angela Lee made me focus more on my MMA,” Fairtex said at a pre-fight press conference on Tuesday. “I trained more on BJJ, and back then, I was too nervous and that made me learn from then on to control myself emotionally and be stable for the fight.”

Stability figures to be key against an experienced, well-rounded martial artist like Ham. The South Korean star has won her past nine bouts and believes Fairtex lacks the seasoning in her skills necessary to keep her from claiming the interim title.

“I believe all jobs require strong experience, especially MMA,” Ham said. “I have abundant experience in MMA and a lot more than Stamp. That’s why I think I have a very strong advantage in this fight.”

Ham, 36, is 11 years older and nearly triples Fairtex’s time in the cage, but her style could be a fit for the muay thai specialist. Unlike Lee, Ham’s claim to fame never involved her submission game. In fact, she has not finished a fight on the ground since 2007. While Fairtex does not want to overlook the former Rizin Fighting Federation, Road Fighting Championship and Jewels champion’s grappling, she remains confident she can keep the fight standing.

“I’ve studied Han, and I’ve noticed that she has really strong punches,” Fairtex said. “I’ve been training my defense for that also.”

The Fairtex-Ham winner will not have to look far for the next challenger. Fairtex prefers a rematch with Lee, but current ONE strawweight champion Jingnan Xiong still has her eyes on a two-division reign. After failing to capture the atomweight crown against Lee in 2019, Xiong has rattled off four consecutive victories. She returns to action in a ONE on Prime Video 14 special rules bout opposite muay thai stylist Nat Jaroonsak and will view the main event with a vested interest.

“I think it’s a 50-50 fight,” Xiong said. “Both of them are equally strong, and whoever gets the chance to knock out the other first could win.”