Bi Nguyen is picking Stamp Fairtex to cause an upset against Angela Lee when the Muay Thai specialist challenges the champion at ONE: ‘X’ next month.
She shared the cage with Stamp for three rounds and believe the challenger has ‘more heart’ than the champion,
“I’ve been fighting a long time and I think that heart-wise, Stamp and I really went bullhead to bullhead, and I just don’t think that Angela has the heart that Stamp has,” she said.
Changing of the guard
Nguyen is confident we will see a changing of the guard at ONE: ‘X’ with the challenger overcoming the only fighter to ever hold the atomweight belt,
“Stamp’s been very smart in working on her weaknesses as well as capitalizing on her strengths. I think she’s moving in the best trajectory in her career MMA-wise to be ready for Angela. I think she’s ready.”
Nguyen has a big match of her own coming up. She faces Lin Heqin at ONE: ‘Bad Blood’ and sees this as a ‘must win’ fight,
‘This is a huge fight for me. It has nothing to do with who it is. I feel a second wind. I feel nervous this week like I used to feel. I hadn’t felt that in a long time. I feel really excited to get in there and showcase what I’ve improved and what I’ve learned.”
Consistent performances
She has lost more fights than she has won since signing for ONE Championship but did secure a split decision win over Ritu Phogat last year. Nguyen is hoping to put on a similar sort of performance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday,
“For me in my career, especially in this division, it’s kind of been two steps forward, two back. It’s constantly been me proving that I belong in the top but not quite doing enough to solidify my spot. Ritu was one of those cases where I showed I’m not to be underestimated and my skillset is of the top level. I just need to perform more consistently.”
