DESPITE her controversial loss in the quarterfinals of the ONE Women's Atomweight Grand Prix, Denice Zamboanga has retained her spot as the no. 1-ranked contender in the division.
Denice Zamboanga ranking
ONE Championship released its updated Athlete Rankings and still had the Filipina fighter at the top spot, putting her at a prime position for a future title shot against the reigning ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion "Unstoppable" Angela Lee.
Zamboanga's run in the Grand Prix come to an abrupt end when she tasted a split decision loss against "Arale Chan" Seo Hee Ham at ONE: Empower on September 3.
That came after Zamboanga being the clear aggressor in the match, taking the Korean down to the mat and even scoring a big takedown in the third round after incurring a gash over her right eye due to an accidental headbutt.
The fight was put under revew, but the ONE Competition Committee upheld the result of the match, keeping Ham in the final four of the Grand Prix together with Itsuki Hirata of Japan, Ritu Phogat of India, and Stamp Fairtex of Thailand.
Zamboanga, though, has been granted a spot in an alternate bout in the Grand Prix as she is set to take on Julie Mezabarba of Brazil in a still to be determined date.
Still, the rankings list is reflective of Zamboanga's pedigree that even ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong vowed to give the "Lycan Queen" her shot at the crown once Lee is cleared.
Ham rose three spots to move to no. 2 behind Zamboanga, while following them are Stamp at no. 3, Phogat at no. 4, and Meng Bo of China at no. 5.
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