DENICE “The Menace” Zamboanga wants nothing more than to compete for the ONE Atomweight World Title currently held by long-time division queen “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.
Zamboanga earned her number one contender spot with an impressive performance over two-time ONE World Title challenger Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi in February, dominating her experienced Japanese opponent from start to finish.
But if travel restrictions continue as is, instead of waiting for a shot at Lee, she’d rather stay active – even if it means she could lose her number one spot.
“I know everything’s not yet normal and I know it will take a long time to face my idol, but if ONE Championship gives us an opportunity again to stay active in fighting, I’m going to fight again,” Zamboanga told Michael Schiavello in an interview with ONEFC.com.
“I want to stay active. I always want to compete. I know there are a lot of risks when competing, but I have no problems taking them.”
Late last August, Zamboanga stayed true to her words. The 23-year-old took on Watsapinya “Dream Girl” Kaewkhong in the featured mixed martial arts bout of ONE: A NEW BREED in Bangkok, Thailand.
Zamboanga hardly broke a sweat, submitting Kaewkhong in just 88 seconds of the first round, proving to the world that she truly deserves the next shot at Lee.
“It was added motivation for sure, especially because they already announced that I earned the shot, so I was really motivated in proving them right,” she said.
“But for me, with or without this fight, I expect that title shot from Angela Lee.”
Another match that could stir interest in the atomweight division is a clash between Zamboanga and former two-sport World Champion Stamp Fairtex.
The two became friends while Zamboanga trained at Fairtex but given that they aren’t training at the same gym anymore it could be a logical match.
After all, they’re both in Thailand, and travel restrictions could delay Zamboanga’s World Title bout with Lee.
But the Filipina would rather avoid a match with Stamp because of her close ties to the charismatic Thai. If she has no say in the matter, however, then it’s business as usual.
“I love Stamp. We’re very close. We trained together before. It’s going to be hard for both of us to fight against each other. I don’t want to have some sort of rivalry between us and I really want to keep that friendship,” Zamboanga said.
“Maybe in the future, if we talk about business, but right now I am focused on my World Title shot.”
Catch ONE: REIGN OF DYNASTIES for free by downloading the ONE Super App.
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