bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Nicolas Atkin

Well, Denice Zamboanga got her wish – but, oh, what a fine mess we find ourselves in.
Breaking down in tears after the agony of a split decision loss to Sam Heo-hee in the quarter-finals of ONE Championship’s atomweight grand prix last Friday in Singapore, the Filipino 24-year-old called on the Asian promotion to review the fight.
South Korean veteran Ham (24-8) laughed off her opponent’s grievances, saying she should “go and study the rules”, with fans and fighters alike split in who they thought won the bout.
What everyone could agree on though, including ONE boss Chatri Sityodtong, was that the margins were razor thin, and that it could have gone either way.


But less than 24 hours later, Chatri announced the fight was under formal review by ONE’s competition committee, and now a tournament that has been beset by several delays could face yet another.
There was an immediate knock-on effect. “Want to review mine and Danny’s while you’re at it?” Reece McLaren wrote in the comments on ONE’s Instagram post announcing the review. Indeed, seemingly picking and choosing which controversial results to review – and which not to – opens ONE up to accusations of bias.
ONE Championship puts on first all-kickboxing main card
The Post was in Manila for McLaren’s flyweight grand prix semi-final defeat by Team Lakay’s Danny Kingad in August 2019, when “The King” took a split decision to a gigantic roar of approval from his home crowd. The Australian was entitled to be just as aggrieved as Zamboanga, if not more so, after seemingly controlling the fight.
The Philippines is a big market for ONE, though, with the Mall of Asia Arena regularly packed to the rafters for events before the global pandemic struck, making it justifiable to ask whether the outcry from Zamboanga’s fans has prompted this review.
Chatri candidly admitted in an interview with the Post last week that Ritu Phogat was put back in the grand prix because of her popularity, and the importance of the Indian market to ONE. She rewarded that show of faith by shocking Meng Bo in a unanimous decision to reach the semi-finals – but only after two other replacements had been lined up to face the Chinese fighter, following Phogat’s own upset loss to Bi Nguyen in May which saw her bounced from the eight-woman tournament.

And so some observers have cried foul play, while others have suggested this is justice for Zamboanga. Whichever side you fall on, what is undeniable is that reviewing a close fight where there were no fouls or obvious mistakes from officials only undermines the judges.
There has been plenty of previous when it comes to reviews in ONE, but there was seemingly more cause for all of them.
Chatri ordered an immediate rematch of Petchmorrakot’s shock featherweight kick-boxing grand prix quarter-final win against Giorgio Petrosyan in May 2019, a statement saying the referee did not adequately control the “illegal clinching” of Muay Thai star Petchmorrakot, “resulting in multiple infractions”.

New Zealand’s Ev Ting also had a request for a review granted after his lightweight MMA loss to Amir Khan in November 2019. “I do not think that a fighter who runs away with minimal output deserves to win,” Chatri wrote in a Facebook post. “Amir was fighting not to lose, while Ev was fighting to win.” No result of the review was announced, however, and Khan’s record still shows a victory.
Then there is Eddie Alvarez. The former UFC lightweight champion was shown a red card in April, after multiple blows which were deemed illegal and to the back of Iuri Lapicus’ head. The American protested his innocence, and demanded the result be overturned. He and his many fans got their wish, with the bout changed to a no contest.
In the grand scheme of things, those cases didn’t matter too much. But if ONE overturns Zamboanga’s loss, either to a no contest or a win for the Filipino, it will open up a can of worms and plunge the grand prix into more scheduling chaos.


The tournament – announced after Angela Lee revealed she was pregnant – was originally meant to start at the beginning of 2021. The first round then got pushed back to May, and then September after a rise in Covid-19 cases in Singapore.
ONE still intends to wrap things up by the end of the year. The final is set for a stacked 10th anniversary show in December, with the grand prix champion to fight for the divisional title against Lee in February.
What now, though, if ONE orders a rematch between Zamboanga and Ham? The earliest the fight could happen again is the end of October. Zamboanga has flown back to Thailand, where she trains, and is in a two-week quarantine, so there is no chance she could make it back to Singapore for September 24’s Revolution card. Not to mention that she opened up a huge cut on her forehead in the third round against Ham, which could have seen the fight called off.

That injury will need time to heal, and so will Ham’s pride if her promotional debut victory is taken away from her.
The 32-year-old former UFC star was signed to much fanfare, vacating her atomweight title in Japanese promotion Rizin, and came into the grand prix as the heavy favourite. She would not take kindly to having to fight Zamboanga again, or worse, being bounced from the tournament – not to mention being denied any win bonus after two of the three judges saw it for her.
ONE has a crucial decision on its hands, and whether it’s fair or not, the easiest thing is to proceed as planned, with Ham in and Zamboanga out.

Fan voting has already begun on ONE’s website for the semi-final matchups, and is set to conclude on September 10 with the results to be announced during the Revolution event.
The show must go on, as they say, but that is no bad thing for Zamboanga – she is still young, improving with every fight, and proved her class against Ham.
After their social media spat, the No 1-ranked “Lycan Queen” has a match-up with Lee out there whenever ONE wants to put it together, and if Ham goes on to win the tournament and then the belt, the rematch is there too.

For now, Zamboanga can fight some of the other quarter-final losers, or even newcomer Julie Mezabarba, who looked impressive during a unanimous decision over former challenger Mei Yamaguchi in Friday’s “alternate” bout.
She just needs to keep her name in the conversation, and then she is likely to get the next crack for the belt after Lee fights the winner of the grand prix.
That is the simplest solution for ONE, and the fairest to all parties. But when has MMA ever been fair? So buckle up, because things could be about to get very bumpy.


ONE Championship: Yod-IQ Pimolsri secures contract, eyes rematch with Abdulla Dayakaev

ONE Championship: Superbon insists his longevity, success are rooted in discipline over sacrifice

ONE Championship: Mohammad Siasarani finally gets coveted contract – now he wants the belt

ONE Championship: Liu Mengyang believes win over Tawanchai is ‘turning point of my career’

ONE Championship

ONE Championship: Denice Zamboanga vs Ham Seo-hee review could leave us with more questions than answers

Denice Zamboanga (left) and Ham Seo-hee touch gloves ahead of their atomweight grand prix quarter-final. Photos: ONE Championship

Denice Zamboanga heads to the ONE circle to face Ham Seo-hee. Photo: ONE Championship

Ham Seo-hee punches Denice Zamboanga.

Denice Zamboanga lifts up Ham Seo-hee.

Ham Seo-hee celebrates her victory over Denice Zamboanga in the ONE atomweight grand prix.

Denice Zamboanga throws a punch at Ham Seo-hee.

Ham Seo-hee says Denice Zamboanga should ‘go and study ONE Championship rules’ after call for review

Ham Seo-hee celebrates her victory over Denice Zamboanga in the ONE atomweight grand prix. Photos: ONE Championship

ONE Championship: Denice Zamboanga vs Ham Seo-hee under review, Chatri says ‘I disagree with  judges’

Denice Zamboanga throws a punch at Ham Seo-hee. Photo: ONE Championship

ONE Championship: Denice Zamboanga calls for review of Ham Seo-hee loss – ‘I clearly won the fight’

Denice Zamboanga hugs Ham Seo-hee after their fight. Photos: ONE Championship

Denice Zamboanga exchanges with Ham Seo-hee.

ONE Championship has ‘huge fight’ for Demetrious Johnson, Chatri wants Eddie Alvarez vs Christian Lee

Demetrious Johnson congratulates Adriano Moraes. Photos: ONE Championship

Eddie Alvarez is shown a red card after a disqualification against Iuri Lapicus at ONE on TNT 1.

Ok Rae-yoon celebrates his victory over Eddie Alvarez at ONE on TNT 4.

ONE Championship: Angela Lee to return in February, Chatri says Denice Zamboanga fight ‘has to happen no matter what’

Angela Lee poses with her ONE Championship atomweight title.

Denice Zamboanga (left) faces off with Ham Seo-hee ahead of ONE: Empower.

Sport

Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts


Asian promotion will open up a can of worms, and draw accusations of bias, if it overturns Filipino’s loss
Atomweight grand prix has already been beset by delays, and the show must go on – whether it’s fair or not



ONE Championship will open up a can of worms and draw accusations of bias if Denice Zamboanga’s loss to Ham Seo-hee is overturned – the show must go on.


Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

The Takedown