Stamp Fairtex’s recent torn meniscus injury in her left knee forced her to withdraw from ONE 167. After surgery, speculation is high that she’ll be out for an extended period, potentially jeopardizing her upcoming champion vs. champion bout at ONE 168: Denver on September 6, 2024. This has opened the door for other athletes, with Smilla Sundell recently expressing her desire to fight Xiong Jing Nan.

Discussing her upcoming fights and the health of the current ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA world champion, Smila Sundell expressed her interest in being a replacement fighter for ONE Denver 168, should the champion be unavailable.

Smilla Sundell vs Xiong Jing Nan at ONE 168 can be a fair bout

Since her debut in the ONE organization as a Muay Thai fighter, Smilla Sundell has never looked back, defeating Jackie Buntan to win the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title. However, after missing weight at ONE Fight Night 22 for a bout against Natalya Dyachkova, she was stripped of her title. Known for her aggressive fighting style that she showcased in all her previous fights, Sundell is eager to return and is open to a mixed-rules fight.

In her recent appearance on the Sportskeeda MMA Originals YouTube channel, The Hurricane was interviewed by Nick Atkin. When the host revealed himself to be a fan who sees her as a replacement for Stamp Fairtex, Sundell confirmed Atkin’s belief, saying she would love to do it and labeled it as cool. Pressing on the matter further, Atkin reckoned that the 19-year-old had nothing to lose against Xiong Jing Nan.

Acknowledging the fact, Sundell revealed, “I don’t think she has anything to lose either,” while continuing, “She’s not training Muay Thai at the moment, so it would be fair in a way, but not really fair because I’m going into a whole new sport.”

Meanwhile, Smilla Sundell’s transition to MMA from Muay Thai and kickboxing would be difficult if she wants to compete against Xiong Jing Nan in an MMA event. However, this difficulty depends on the speed of Stamp Fairtex’s recovery. Ultimately, the decision rests with ONE Championship and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

They can either wait for Stamp’s recovery or select another opponent for Xiong Jing Nan, as they did for ONE 167, by bringing in Noelle Grandjean against Denice Zamboanga.

Denice Zamboanga gets a new opponent for ONE 167

Last week brought sad news to the MMA world. ONE Championship announced that its first-ever-three-sport world champion, Stamp Fairtex, was forced to withdraw from her headline fight at ONE 167 next month against Denice Zamboanga because of an injury. Instead of canceling the fight, they found a new opponent in Noelle Grandjean and promoted Tawanchai vs. Nattawut 2 to the headline bout, which is scheduled for June 7, at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.

A second-generation fighter, Noelle Grandjean is well equipped with Judo and Kickboxing skills, which she harnessed from her father, a renowned coach and a former professional fighter. She joined ONE Championship in 2022, fought against Lea Bivins, and won. However, after Stamp’s injury, Denice Zamboanga’s dream of becoming number one seems to be shattered. She has faced this for the second time in her career.

Furthermore, Denice was primed to challenge then ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion, Angela Lee. Unfortunately, their fight would not come to fruition as Lee stepped away from competition to prepare for motherhood. She would lose her chance to challenge for the belt after she lost in the first round of the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Grand Prix. This time around, an injury to the reigning queen prevented her from fighting for the prestigious strap.

Do you think Zamboanga will get another fight with Stamp anytime soon in the future? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.