ONE Championship: Denice Zamboanga vows to ‘prove them wrong’ vs Ham Seo-hee in atomweight grand prix
- Filipino ‘Menace’ admits South Korean is ‘most dangerous’ in tournament ‘but if you’re a champion you fight whoever’
- Zamboanga says it will be ‘nothing personal’ if she meets friend and former training partner Stamp Fairtex in semis
Denice Zamboanga knows she drew the short straw when ONE Championship’s atomweight grand prix brackets were finally announced this month.
The 24-year-old Filipino “Menace” (8-0) is the No 1-ranked fighter in a stacked division, but has been matched up with vaunted ONE newcomer Ham Seo-hee (23-8).
A former champion in Japanese promotion Rizin and South Korea’s Road FC, 34-year-old UFC veteran Ham is the heavy favourite to win the tournament – which starts on May 28 at ONE: Empower – and go on to face atomweight champion Angela Lee (10-2).
“I think this is the biggest challenge I’m gonna face in the tournament, because she’s the most experienced, the toughest among the fighters and the most dangerous,” Zamboanga told SCMP MMA.
“It’s gonna be a big challenge for the first round, but for me it doesn’t matter who I’m gonna face, because if you’re really the top one, or if you’re really a champion, you’re gonna fight whoever.”