Report: Stamp Fairtex Out of ONE 167

An injury may also prevent Fairtex from competing at ONE 168

Stamp Fairtex is out of ONE 167.

And she is likely out of ONE 168, too.

Fairtex suffered a torn meniscus, sources close to Fairtex have shared with Sports Illustrated.

The injury was suffered last week in a training session. Fairtex has already undergone surgery, and she will likely require a five-to-six-month recovery. That means she will be forced to miss ONE 167 on June 8, where she was scheduled to defend the women’s atomweight title against Denice Zamboanga.

That timeline will also likely preclude her from fighting at ONE 168 in September, which is the promotion’s return to America. She was supposed to headline the card challenging Xiong Jing Nan’s women’s strawweight championship.

Stamp Fairtex / ONE Championship

Losing Fairtex is a loss for both these cards, especially as her popularity continues to soar in the U.S. Without her on the ONE 168 card, the likeliest result is that Jonathan Haggerty will seize the main event spot, defending his bantamweight Muay Thai title against Superlek.

But MMA is king in the U.S., so it is not out of the realm of possibility for ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong to announce a new main event for September. 

Sityodtong could add undefeated Anatoly Malykin, a three-division MMA world champion, to ONE 168. The timing would fit, as Malykin last fought in March and his next fight should take place in the fall or early winter.

Another option for Sityodtong to make waves at ONE 168 is to add Christian Lee to the card, as the fight world awaits his first bout since November of 2022. Out of the two, Malykin makes more sense for September, and he offers a rare type of flexibility considering he can defend the heavyweight, light heavyweight, or middleweight title.

ONE is expected to confirm the news about Fairtex’s injury imminently.