ONE Championship: Predictions, How to Watch Stamp Fairtex vs. Janet Todd

History could be made this Friday at ONE: Call to Greatness in Singapore, as ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion Stamp Fairtex looks to become the promotion's first-ever two-sport world champion when she takes on American Janet Todd for the inaugural atomweight muay thai world title.

This bout features two likable competitors, but who are Fairtex and Todd? How did they get here? What's on the line for both women?

Here is everything you need to know about Stamp Fairtex vs. Janet Todd.

Muay Thai

First, it's important to understand the differences in this match compared to other mixed martial arts bouts. Since it is a muay thai bout, the competitors are focused on striking through punches, kicks, elbows and knees. Grappling on the ground and wrestling are not allowed.

Instead of five-minute rounds, muay thai bouts have three-minute rounds. Because Fairtex and Todd are competing with a championship on the line, this match can go up to five rounds. 

Where and How to Watch

This event will be held at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Those in the U.S. can watch the contest for free on B/R Live.

The main card starts at approximately 7:30 a.m. ET, and preceding it is a four-match preliminary card that begins at 6.

The full card stands as follows:

Main Card

• Stamp Fairtex vs. Janet Todd (atomweight muay thai world championship)

• Amir Khan vs. Ariel Sexton (lightweight world grand prix quarterfinal)

• Ev Ting vs. Saygid Arslanaliev (lightweight world grand prix quarterfinal)

• Nieky Holzken vs. Mustapha Haida (kickboxing)

• Dejdamrong Amnuaysirichoke vs. Jeremy Miado 

• Masahide Kudo vs. Petchdam Academy (kickboxing)

• Kong Sambo vs. Zhang Chenglong (kickboxing)

Preliminary Card

• Regian Eersel vs. Anthony Njokuani (kickboxing)

• Ayaka Miura vs. Laura Balin

• Masakazu Imanari vs. Kwon Won Il

• Rudy Agustian vs. Khon Sichan

Stamp Fairtex

ONE

Age: 21

Height: 5'1"

Weight: 115 pounds

Stance: Orthodox

Amateur Record: 60-15-5

Professional Record: 1-0

ONE Record: 1-0

Don't let her professional record fool you. Stamp Fairtex claims to be a muay thai veteran, with "about 80 (amateur) fights officially" under her belt, as she told Richard Arthur of Fox Sports Asia. 

Fairtex loves to put on a show, unafraid to get inside the heads of her opponents during matches. She manages to back up her talk more often than not and has quickly become a fan favorite.

Although she is already the reigning ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion, Fairtex's bread and butter is muay thai. In fact, her title win against Kai Ting Chuang last October was Fairtex's first foray into kickboxing.

The match was rather sloppy on her end as she continuously swept the legs of Chuang, an illegal move in kickboxing, but Fairtex still controlled the majority of the bout, and the judges rewarded her with a unanimous-decision victory in her first professional match.

Fairtex is a physical force, throwing her opponents down with ease by using her long reach to close the distance. She also uses that reach as a defensive advantage, making it difficult for competitors to time strikes and grappling attempts effectively.

This is just the second step of a much larger goal for Fairtex. Not only does she want to become ONE's first two-sport world champion, but she also wants to eventually earn a mixed martial arts title shot.

"It is still a goal for me to win a title in MMA," she told BJPenn.com's Tom Taylor. "I still do mixed martial arts training. I plan to compete under mixed martial arts rules this year, but my team asked if I wanted to compete in a muay thai bout. It's hard to pass on that. ... The goal is to become a three-sport world champion."

The wonderkid has already accomplished plenty in her young career, but she must put her long-term goals to the side for now and continue using her natural attributes to her advantage for the next bout. The question remains: How will she do against an athlete even more physically dominating than she is?

Janet Todd

IFMA

Age: 33

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 115 pounds

Stance: Orthodox

Amateur Record: 32-10

Professional Record: 0-0

ONE Record: 0-0

Although she's represented the U.S. in many different amateur competitions and has won a gold medal for the Stars and Stripes at the Pan-American Games, this will be Janet Todd's first professional match.

Todd contributes that to the lack of professional bouts available stateside and the difficult decision to become professional and risk forfeiting her status on the amateur stage, where most American muay thai bouts are available.

If she turned pro, Todd knew that she would also have to give up her career as an aerospace engineer. In fact, she was introduced to muay thai by her husband as she was studying for her master's degree.

After competing in her first bout in 2009, Todd stepped away from the sport for four years to complete her degree. She then decided to continue her training and worked her way up through the amateur ranks. It wasn't until ONE called that she saw a golden opportunity to turn pro and consistently compete.

"Its amazing how much support I've gotten," she told Matt Lucas of InFightStyle.com in 2017. "Without people promoting me, I don't know how I would have gotten to where I am now. My husband, he backs me a lot. We make a lot of sacrifices in the relationship and he doesn't give me a hard time. It's nice to have someone like that."

Todd is a fast, ferocious athlete that is quick to grapple with her opponent and send knees to the body. She has a two-inch height advantage, which Fairtex isn't used to from her opponents. It will also be a level playing field in terms of reach, another usual advantage that Fairtex will no longer have.

Todd's biggest concern will be adapting to Fairtex's style of muay thai, which Todd has said she has struggled with in the past after training in Thailand.

"That was different. I felt like I died multiple times. I didn't know what to expect. I'd never been to Thailand before, I was just on board with the whole thing. ... My opponent just threw things I didn't have an answer to."

Prediction

ONE

Everything Janet Todd has been able to accomplish with her limited muay thai resources in the U.S. is remarkable and a testament to her passion for the sport. She deserves the spotlight of ONE to showcase what another region of the world relatively unfamiliar to muay thai can bring to the table.

With that being said, Todd's inexperience against the top-tier talent pool in Asia greatly hinders her against Fairtex, who has been molded by said top-tier talent since she started competing. Although Todd is 12 years older than her opponent, it's Fairtex who comes in as a more complete and experienced talent.

The Thai is coming into this bout confident for that exact reason.

"I'm not worried about the bout because the rules are muay thai," Stamp said, per Taylor. "I know I can do well against her under muay thai rules. I will use my knowledge, skills and experience to beat her."

Perhaps Todd's physicality does end up being a mismatch for her, but Fairtex's class should be enough to overcome it.

I'm predicting Stamp Fairtex defeats Janet Todd by unanimous decision to become ONE's first-ever two-sport world champion.

Regardless of who wins, both athletes are here for a greater cause: to showcase what women's muay thai is all about.

"I was the only girl in my village's boxing gym," Fairtex shared, per ONE Championship (h/t Yahoo News). "People thought the boxing ring was sacred, and only men should enter it because women should be in school studying. As more women began to compete, people's perceptions started to change. 

"I think I've set a good example for women in the sport. I showed them that they must work hard, train hard, and be patient. I'm happy that I can be a role model to kids and other women.'

"I got these messages from other women asking me for tips, asking me how to prepare for fights. It's really cool to inspire other girls. It really helped me and helps me with my everyday life. It inspires me and makes me want to work harder. I want to show other girls that you can do it too."

Related Links

In addition to this piece, B/R Live has also covered the rights agreement between ONE Championship and Turner Sports as well as an in-depth look at ONE.