January 13 ------ Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga can now officially call herself a World Champion. Zamboanga put on a masterful performance to take the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight MMA World Championship after stopping the #4-ranked Alyona Rassohyna in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 27 inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
In doing so, Zamboanga became the first Filipina MMA World Champion while also taking home the US$50,000 bonus for her performance, as she ended years of heartbreaks and disappointment with easily the best performance of her career. “I’ve been here for years. I’ve made it through hard work, tears, and everything. I’m really speechless.” Zamboanga told ONE commentator Mitch Chilson after the match. “The delays and injuries, I’ve been through a lot of injuries. Just last week I couldn’t even move my left arm but I didn’t want to cancel this fight because I know God will give me this fight.”
The 28-year-old, as expected, dominated the striking game by keeping the Ukrainian at bay with her hands – with the Filipina being quicker to the punch each time they traded blows on the feet. But it was Zamboanga’s groundwork that truly captivated fans everywhere in this fight. The T-Rex MMA standout defended the submission specialist’s takedowns easily while finding her way to a dominant position in the instances they hit the ground. And it was in the same position where Zamboanga finally got the stoppage. After escaping a desperate leg lock attempt from Rassohyna, Zamboanga found herself on top once more and rained down punches and elbows from side control to get the stoppage in the 4:47 mark of round two.
Immediately after the match, Zamboanga’s good friend and now biggest rival in ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex congratulated her for the win, and shared how she’s getting close to returning. “Congratulations Philippines! I’m so excited to fight her in the ring. I’m ready to fight her,” Stamp shared.
Source: spin.ph
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