Reigning ONE women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee returned to action at Saturday’s ONE X, competing for the first time since 2019 when she took on grand prix winner Stamp Fairtex in the mammoth card’s main event.
In her absence, Stamp had rose to the top of the division, winning the promotion’s atomweight grand prix last year.
Lee closed the distance almost instantly to kick off the ONE X main event in Singapore on Saturday, looking to get Stamp Fairtex to the ground. Instead, Stamp reversed, put Lee against the fence, and fired an elbow off the break. At distance, Lee used her jab, then bullied her way inside once more, again looking for a takedown.
When Lee couldn’t get the fight down, she found herself in dire straits. Stamp let loose, lighting up the body and hurting Lee. The champ backpedaled, and Stamp pressed forward, battering her with punches. Somehow, Lee survived and pushed back, eventually slowing the pace down and putting Stamp against the fence. That bought her precious moments to recover, and she also dragged Stamp to her knees, taking the back, albeit high, and flattening the challenger out. Stamp fought the hands, while Lee showed superb flexibility, floating around on the back hunting chokes.
Round two saw Lee get the fight into her wheelhouse early. She would trap an arm with her legs, but ended up going to her back. Still, Lee hunted an arm, then locked up a triangle. That allowed her to go after the arm again, while putting considerable pressure on Stamp’s neck. The challenger at times seemed seconds away from both going out, and escaping; she would survive, but still had Lee controlling her on the ground. The champ added some knees to the body, then set Stamp up for a twister attempt. Stamp Fairtex practically gutted her way through some of those submission attempts, but just before the end of the round, Angela Lee flattened the challenger out, got the rear-naked choke in place, and forced the tap!
A victorious homecoming for atomweight champion Angela Lee, who picks up her second straight win, years apart, and moves to 11-2 as a pro.
Official Result: Angela Lee def. Stamp Fairtex by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 4:50
