Stamp Fairtex has relinquished her atomweight MMA world title after encountering a setback in her recovery from knee surgery, with ONE Championship moving its planned return to Denver as a result.
ONE 173, which was slated for August 1 in Denver, is now set to take place on June 26, 2026, a press release said, with attempts to book other high-profile replacement world title fights not coming together.
Denice Zamboanga, who was set to fight Thailand’s Stamp in the main event at Ball Arena, has also been elevated to atomweight champ from interim status.
“We are saddened to hear of the injury setback to Stamp and wish her nothing but the best in her road to recovery," ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said.
"After looking at multiple alternate headlining options that unfortunately did not come together, we have made the difficult decision to move our Denver event to June 26.”
The press release said fans who have already bought tickets will also be offered full refunds by Ticketmaster, or can hold their tickets until next year.
"When bringing the world’s largest martial arts organisation to the US, we strive to deliver the very best product to our passionate American fan base and put on the most entertaining and memorable show possible,” Chatri added.
"The US remains a high-priority market for ONE and our global business, and we remain committed to maintaining a strong presence in the region with monthly ONE Fight Night events in US primetime and future on-ground events.”
Stamp, who has not fought since she won her title in September 2023, had previously told the Bangkok Post she was set for a kickboxing tune-up fight around May.
She was originally set to fight her former training partner Zamboanga in Doha in March 2024, before the matchup was switched to Bangkok for June of that year.
But Stamp suffered a torn meniscus in May 2024 which required surgery, and which also ruled her out of a planned main event fight at ONE 168 in Denver last September against strawweight MMA champ Xiong Jingnan.
Zamboanga went on to win the interim title with a second-round TKO of Alyona Rassohyna in January this year.
Two other fights had already been made official for ONE 173, but it is uncertain if they will still take place on the new date.
Liam Harrison was set to come out of retirement to fight Myanmar’s Soe Lin Oo in a bantamweight Muay Thai bout.
Giancarlo Bodoni was also signed to face Rafael Lovato Jr in a middleweight submission grappling bout.
ONE 173, which was slated for August 1 in Denver, is now set to take place on June 26, 2026, a press release said, with attempts to book other high-profile replacement world title fights not coming together.
Denice Zamboanga, who was set to fight Thailand’s Stamp in the main event at Ball Arena, has also been elevated to atomweight champ from interim status.
“We are saddened to hear of the injury setback to Stamp and wish her nothing but the best in her road to recovery," ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said.
"After looking at multiple alternate headlining options that unfortunately did not come together, we have made the difficult decision to move our Denver event to June 26.”
The press release said fans who have already bought tickets will also be offered full refunds by Ticketmaster, or can hold their tickets until next year.
"When bringing the world’s largest martial arts organisation to the US, we strive to deliver the very best product to our passionate American fan base and put on the most entertaining and memorable show possible,” Chatri added.
"The US remains a high-priority market for ONE and our global business, and we remain committed to maintaining a strong presence in the region with monthly ONE Fight Night events in US primetime and future on-ground events.”
Stamp, who has not fought since she won her title in September 2023, had previously told the Bangkok Post she was set for a kickboxing tune-up fight around May.
She was originally set to fight her former training partner Zamboanga in Doha in March 2024, before the matchup was switched to Bangkok for June of that year.
But Stamp suffered a torn meniscus in May 2024 which required surgery, and which also ruled her out of a planned main event fight at ONE 168 in Denver last September against strawweight MMA champ Xiong Jingnan.
Zamboanga went on to win the interim title with a second-round TKO of Alyona Rassohyna in January this year.
Two other fights had already been made official for ONE 173, but it is uncertain if they will still take place on the new date.
Liam Harrison was set to come out of retirement to fight Myanmar’s Soe Lin Oo in a bantamweight Muay Thai bout.
Giancarlo Bodoni was also signed to face Rafael Lovato Jr in a middleweight submission grappling bout.
