DENICE “The Menace” Zamboanga might still be young, but with all the things that she’s endured, she might very well be in a now-or-never position.
Losing one MMA World Title opportunity after another mostly because of things beyond her control, Zamboanga will finally shoot for the ONE Interim Atomweight MMA World Title against Alyona Rassohyna at ONE Fight Night 27 this Saturday, January 11, inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
READ: Denice Zamboanga out to flaunt improved grappling vs. Rassohyna
If she hurdles Rassohyna, she’ll have something that can’t be taken away from her – a ONE World Title unification bout with good friend and reigning divisional queen Stamp Fairtex.
“This is such an important fight for me. We’ve been working for this for a long time, and finally here we are. I’m excited,” she said.
At age 28, the what-ifs for Zamboanga are already piling up.
If the pandemic didn’t happen and Zamboanga continued her momentum from 2020, would she have been a World Champion already?
If the judges favored her in the first round of her ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix clash with Ham Seo Hee, would she have won it and then fought for the division crown?
Would she have beaten Stamp last year if the Fairtex star had not gotten injured?
There’s no point looking back in regret for Zamboanga now, especially since she’s on track with her goals. In fact, she’s only two wins away from becoming the undisputed ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion.
Having said that, those disappointments in the past have only made her better.
“I just brushed it off. All these struggles, the disappointments, the adversities. It’s all part of the process. I didn’t let those things get me down. It only made me better, and stronger,” she said.
“With everything I went through, I can say I’m more motivated than ever in winning this belt.”
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