‘Feels Amazing’ – Stamp Makes Long-Awaited Muay Thai Return Against Cynthia Flores At The Inner Circle 20
Six years have passed since Stamp Fairtex last competed under Muay Thai rules, but the sport has never stopped feeling like home.
The former ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and MMA World Champion will return to her original discipline against Mexican striker Cynthia Flores at The Inner Circle 20 on Friday, June 26. The atomweight showdown streams live in Asia primetime via live.onefc.com from Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium.
For the 28-year-old, the matchup represents another important step in a comeback that has already tested her patience, conditioning, and confidence.
The Thai megastar returned from a lengthy injury layoff against Japanese kickboxing standout “Krusher Queen” Kana at ONE 173. Although she did not get the result she wanted, the three-round battle provided an honest assessment of how her body responded after so much time away from competition.
Rather than dwelling on the defeat, the Fairtex Training Center representative views it as a necessary part of her return.
She said:
“If you’re asking whether my last fight against Kana helped me shake off the ring rust, yeah, it definitely did. Quite a bit, actually.
“It really showed me where my cardio is at and helped me figure out how I need to prepare for this upcoming fight.”
Stamp’s timing and technique had not disappeared, but the pace of an actual contest exposed the area requiring the most work.
Different fighters experience ring rust in different ways. For the former three-sport queen, the biggest obstacle was her gas tank.
She explained:
“Honestly, when you’ve been out of the ring for a long time, every fighter responds differently when they make a comeback. Some feel sluggish, some feel slow, and others find that their cardio just isn’t what it used to be.
“For me, it was definitely the cardio part.”
That experience shaped Stamp’s preparations for Flores.
After more than two months of training, she can already feel the improvements in her running and conditioning. More importantly, returning to Muay Thai has provided an emotional lift that kickboxing could not offer.
Stamp began competing in “the art of eight limbs” at a young age and became a ONE World Champion in the discipline before expanding her ambitions into kickboxing and MMA.
Even after reaching the summit in all three sports, Muay Thai remains the rule set in which she feels most natural and assured.
She said:
“Accepting a Muay Thai fight after six years away feels amazing. It feels like I’m finally returning to my roots, returning to the sport I’ve been competing in since I was a kid.
“It feels great, and it actually gives me a lot more confidence than competing in kickboxing.”
Stamp Plans To Counter Flores’ Heavy Hands With Elbows
Familiar rules will not make Stamp Fairtex’s assignment straightforward when she faces Cynthia Flores at The Inner Circle 20.
The Mexican brings the kind of aggressive style that can turn any three-round Muay Thai contest into a firefight. She constantly advances, throws her hands with bad intentions, and owns a dangerous overhand that Stamp believes can punish even a momentary lapse in concentration.
Flores has also prepared alongside reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues, who defeated Stamp for the belt in 2020. That connection adds another layer of intrigue to the matchup.
Stamp said:
“Cynthia is a really tough fighter with a very versatile skill set. But her biggest threat is her heavy hands – she has a great overhand. If you let your guard down for even a second, she will punish you instantly.
“Her style is just non-stop, relentless forward pressure.”
Stamp does not intend to retreat in straight lines against that pressure.
Instead, she plans to create angles, pivot away from Flores’ strongest attacks, and exploit one of the most significant differences between Muay Thai and kickboxing.
The elbow could become her most important weapon.
She explained:
“For this fight, I think I’m going to focus a lot more on using my elbows. Since she’s a puncher, she’s going to rely heavily on her hands.
“When someone comes in with punches, the shortest weapon to counter them is the elbow.”
Flores will also arrive with considerable urgency after falling short in her first two ONE Championship appearances.
Stamp expects that hunger to make the Mexican even more dangerous, but the stakes are equally significant for the Thai superstar. Victory would mark Stamp’s first win under any rule set since suffering the injury and her first Muay Thai triumph since losing the division’s World Title in 2020.
Beyond those milestones, the 28-year-old views this striking matchup as preparation for an eventual return to MMA, where her ultimate ambition is to reclaim the ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title.
She said:
“My long-term plan hasn’t changed. I just felt like I needed a fight or two in the striking arts just to get my lungs burning and get my rhythm back before jumping back into MMA, because MMA takes a massive toll on your cardio.
“My main goal is to get my belt back.”
