ONE Championship women’s atomweight champion Stamp Fairtex is injured and out of her upcoming title fight, leaving a later scheduled champion vs. champion bout in question.
Fairtex was set to defend her atomweight title (115 pounds) for the first time against Denice Zamboanga at ONE 167 on Friday, June 7, in Bangkok, Thailand, but suffered a torn meniscus in training. As a result of the incident, Fairtex has withdrawn from the contest.
The new main event of ONE 167 will be a muay Thai title bout between champ Tawanchai PK Saenchai vs. challenger Jo Nattawut, the promotion announced Tuesday.
“My sparring partner was behind me, and she was going to take me down,” Fairtex said in the announcement. “She grabbed my body and lifted me up, but since she is smaller than me, when she lifted me up, she couldn’t lift me that high, and my leg was still touching the ground.
“Then, she twisted. When she twisted, my leg was still touching the ground, so my knee got twisted. When it twisted, it made a loud noise. So, I stopped immediately and went for an MRI after that. (And the doctor said) my meniscus was torn.”
Fairtex, the first three-sport champion in ONE history, has already undergone successful surgery to repair the torn meniscus and will require a few months of recovery, according to the promotion.
This leaves Fairtex’s headlining bout scheduled for Sept. 6 at ONE 168 in Denver uncertain. She is currently scheduled to face strawweight (125 pounds) titleholder Jing Nan Xiong in a champion vs. champion bout on, but may not be ready to compete.
