Stamp Fairtex fired back at Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat after the latter claimed in an earlier interview that she sees fear in the eyes of the Thai star.
The Fairtex athlete plans to prove Phogat wrong when they face off in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix Championship Final at ONE: Winter Warriors this Friday from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“I’m not scared at all. Ritu is a normal human, just like me,” Stamp said.
“She might think I’m scared of her. But, actually, she’s scared of me. If she wasn’t, she would not look down on me like that.”
The no. 2-ranked atomweight is confident that she’ll be coming in prepared for #4-ranked Phogat. The former ONE Atomweight Muay Thai and Kickboxing World Champion believes that she’ll only have to worry about her opponent’s wresting prowess that night.
If the Evolve MMA representative fails to take her down and impose her will on the canvas, the Pattaya-based fighter is confident that Phogat’s got nothing else on her.
“I’ve been studying Ritu quite deeply. I’ve prepared for a long time to fight with her,” Stamp said.
“She has only one strength, which is taking her opponent down and taking control of the game. That’s it. Her striking is not very good. She has a basic jab and right hand to set up her shots.”
Still, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t respect her opponent.
While Stamp claims that Phogat is a one-trick pony, she is wary that the lone advantage of “The Indian Tigress” could give her problems throughout the fight.
That’s why she’s already tweaking her style out of respect for Phogat’s wrestling.
“You might see fewer kicks, or maybe none at all. If I kick, I will have to be faster. We have to see if she will risk getting hurt when she wants to take me down,” Stamp said.
Still, she’s confident that she has what it takes to be the first fighter to finish the multi-medalled Indian wrestler when it comes down to it.
“Personally, I would like to use my Muay Thai skills to knock her out with my knees or elbows,” she said. “There’s a high chance I’ll finish her if I hurt her. In that situation, her body is not so strong for the knees.”
Both Stamp and Phogat will put their 7-1 mixed martial arts record on the line to become the first ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix winner. The victor will also get a title opportunity against ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee next year.
Catch ONE: Winter Warriors live on One Sports or One Sports+ at 8:30 p.m. Philippine Standard Time (PHT) on Friday.
It will also air simultaneously on ONE’s YouTube channel and the ONE Super App.
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