Matches to Make After ONE on Prime Video 14

Lev PisarskySep 30, 2023

ONE Championship returned to Amazon Prime with three title fights in three different combat disciplines, all headlined by women. In the main event, promotional superstar Stamp Fairtex faced Seo Hee Ham for the vacant 115-pound title, as champion Angela Lee announced her retirement Friday night. Only 25, Fairtex is already a former ONE world champion in kickboxing, muay thai and mixed martial arts. She had lost the crown to Lee via fourth-round submission in March of 2022, though Stamp had come back strong with back-to-back wins over Jihin Radzuan and Alyse Anderson in MMA, the latter virtue of a brutal liver kick.

Ham had won nine in a row, with some declaring she was one of the best WMMA fighters in the world. Age was also a concern, as Ham is 36, over a decade older than her opponent.

Ham had her occasional moments, with the best being a flash knockdown in Round 2. However, Stamp was the clearly better striker, pelting the South Korean with kicks and punches at range, and nailing her with knees and elbows in the clinch. Early in Round 3, Stamp hurt Ham badly with a well-timed right cross to the body, and after a knee upstairs and several more body punches, she had won the championship for a second time via a thrilling knockout.

In the co-main event, 18-year-old striking sensation Smilla Sundell defended her 125 pound muay thai strap against tough Brazilian 115 pound champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, moving up in weight. First becoming champion at 17, Sundell is still improving, on top of being a huge 5' 8” with over 69” of reach at her weight class. Rodrigues, meanwhile, had won her title by defeating main eventer Stamp back in 2020 and had successfully defended it against Janet Todd in March of this year. Rodrigues insisted on repeatedly clinching with her bigger, longer opponent, but Sundell consistently got the better of it, out-kneeing and elbowing the Brazilian. There was little respite for Rodrigues at range though, as Sundell had much better boxing, beating up with her punches. Finally, an onslaught of knees and punches caused the referee to halt the punishment at the end of the third round, as Sundell retained.

Elsewhere, former ONE champion and elite Ultimate Fighting Championship contender John Lineker faced the terrific Stephen Loman, who hadn't lost since 2016. This was a battle of highly-skilled contenders, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 within the division, and it lived up to the billing. Loman started strong, taking the first round on the strength of a well-timed takedown. But being as great and experienced as he is, Lineker was undaunted, stuffing Loman's takedowns in the next two rounds while punishing him with punches, especially gut-busting blows to the body. With Lineker clearly better over the last two rounds, he took a well-deserved unanimous decision.

With the event over, here are several exciting bouts that ONE can book:

Stamp Fairtex vs. Alyona Rassohyna

With Lee retired, the next most intriguing fight for Stamp is a rubber match against nemesis and top-ranked contender Alyona Rassohyna. Rassohyna submitted Stamp via a guillotine choke with just seven seconds left in the fight when they first met in February 2021. In a rematch in September of that year, Fairtex won via a controversial split decision. Clearly, the two have unfinished business, so a third meeting would make perfect sense for Stamp's first title defense of her second reign.

Smilla Sundell vs. Jackie Buntan

Sundell won her title from Jackie Buntan in April 2022 and was originally scheduled to rematch her for this card until she pulled out due to injury. Their first fight was very close and Buntan, only 26, has been on a tear since losing her crown, dominating Amber Kitchen and then knocking out Diandra Martin in the first round. Buntan is bigger and more physical than Rodrigues and possesses boxing skills that match or even exceed Sundell's. The rematch should be a terrific striking contest, with Buntan having a good chance of evening the score.

John Lineker vs. Fabricio Andrade

The trilogy bout is the only one that makes sense. For starters, Lineker is the clear No. 1 contender and just defeated the No. 2 ranked Loman. That also makes two wins in a row since he lost his bantamweight crown to Fabricio de Andrade in February of this year, a pitched battle where Lineker certainly had his moments before the doctor stopped it after Round 4. And with their first fight ending in an anti-climactic no contest, the ledger is only 1-0 in favor of the champion de Andrade.