Bi Nguyen believes Stamp Fairtex is still unproven

IN 2019, Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen has swarmed the atomweight division.

Now “Killer Bee” looks to sting ONE Atomweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion Stamp Fairtex at ONE: MASTERS OF FATE this Friday, 8 November in Manila, Philippines.

It also marks Nguyen’s return to mixed martial arts after a dominant display against India’s Puja “The Cyclone” Tomar at ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH in September – ONE’s first-ever striking-only event.

“I was focused on mixed martial arts for a while, and then I went to Muay Thai, which meant I had to change my wrestling to clinching. I showed that in my last fight,” Nguyen said.

“I don’t think people realize and appreciate the kind of work it takes to go back and forth between sports, but it’s a challenge that I welcome – and I’m happy to have.”

Nguyen’s next opponent will be no easy task. Stamp ­­– a two-sport World Champion – took the martial arts world by storm last year and continues to showcase her elite level in every bout.

In her quest to add a third martial arts World Title to her resume, Stamp stunned fans with a rear-naked choke win in August of this year.

Though the submission exhibited Stamp’s potential on the ground, Nguyen thinks the ground is her opponent’s biggest weakness.

“She looked like a good athlete, she looked like she had been doing [grappling], and she looked like she was a natural, but you really have to take into account who she was fighting,” the 30-year-old said.

“Her opponent in the last fight had zero ground game. She’s a great boxer, but it was a great match-up for Stamp to show her ground [skills] in the last fight. She’s not going to get that chance with me.”

For “Killer Bee,” it is not a matter of if the match goes to the ground, but when – and once there, she thinks all paths will lead to her getting her hand raised.

“I think the fight is going to end up on the ground, and I’m going to win. That’s where it becomes a mismatch.”

“I’m not going to say if it’s ground and pound or a submission. It’s hard to tell. My submission might give me ground and pound, or my ground and pound might give me a submission.”

ONE Championship returns to Manila for one last time this year with ONE: MASTERS OF FATE this Friday, 8 November at the Mall Of Asia Arena.