Angela Lee Wants Stamp Fairtex, But Wouldn’t Mind Denice Zamboanga
ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee recently reposted a fan poll, with a result that demonstrates a massive demand for the match between her and Stamp Fairtex, which she would gladly accept. This caused a bit of a backlash amongst the fans, because according to the first official ONE Championship rankings, Denice Zamboanga is the number one contender at atomweight, and Stamp is not even in the top five.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post, Lee explained why she would take the match against Stamp instead of Zamboanga, although she is generally ready for anyone.
“ONE Championship asked me to repost this post they did and they held a contest seeing which fight the fans wanted to see the most, and me and Stamp we came out the number one fight that people wanted to see. I said, ‘Hey, if this is the fight the fans want, let’s make it happen’.
“It’s like a super fight, because Stamp is a [former] multiple sport champion in Muay Thai and kick-boxing, now just Muay Thai, and she’s had a couple MMA fights, so it’s not like she’s foreign to MMA. And people are talking about she’ll be the first three-sport champ, so I said sure, I welcome it with open arms. I’d jump on that fight.
“But then I had some people come and say, ‘Why are you calling out Stamp, you’re dodging Denice’. I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I just wanna make the fight the fans wanna see, I wanna make the money fight, and I’m not scared of either of them. I’m scared of no one in the division, because as a champion you gotta be ready for everyone. I feel it was just a bit silly. My mentality is I’m ready for anyone, whenever. I just think it would be a great fight [against Stamp]. The fans want that fight, they spoke. I’m literally just saying I support that fight and I’d be ready to fight.”
Lee further elaborated why she thinks the match against Stamp would be exciting and intriguing for the fans.
“I think that’s what makes things so interesting – people want to see how Stamp’s striking fares with my MMA game. MMA is a completely different sport, there’s so many different aspects to it,” Lee said. “It’s not just striking, wrestling and grappling. There’s so many different layers.”
Zamboanga on the other hand, is undefeated in her MMA career, and coming off an excellent performance against Mei Yamaguchi at ONE: King of the Jungle last February. After the biggest win of her career, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed that she would challenge Lee for the title next.
Lee reflected on that match and gave Zamboanga her credits, but she doesn’t think the Filipino native has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
“I think that fight showed she’s a well-rounded mixed martial artists. She’s up and coming, young and like every atomweight contender out there, she wants the belt. That’s the end goal.
“We were able to see parts of her game with Mei and the fight before that. I think she’s good everywhere, but I don’t think she has what it takes to take it that next level deep – that’s where I would be testing her. But yeah, I’m excited for it whenever it does happen.
“I’m very proud of the atomweight division, how much it’s grown. I’d like to see them face off each other, actually. See who comes out on top, just to have clear rankings for the contenders. But I’m ready for them. I see them. They’re up and coming. I think it’s great the division is so stacked.”
Who would you like to see Angela Lee face next, Stamp Fairtex or Denice Zamboanga?
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