Advertisement
Advertisement
ONE Championship
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Ham Seo-hee celebrates after defeating Denice Zamboanga.

Exclusive | ONE Championship targeting Denice Zamboanga vs Ham Seo-hee rematch for December’s 10th anniversary show

  • Filipino and South Korean set to run it back at ONE: X after controversial atomweight grand prix quarter-final
  • Ham withdrew from her semi-final with broken finger, with Zamboanga not medically cleared for alternate bout vs Julie Mezabarba

ONE Championship is working on a rematch between Denice Zamboanga and Ham Seo-hee for its 10th anniversary show on December 5, a source told the Post.

The South Korean veteran (24-8) won her promotional debut after taking a controversial split decision against Zamboanga (8-1) in the quarter-finals of the atomweight grand prix on September 3.

A formal review by the Asian martial arts promotion’s competition committee upheld the result, however, with nine of the 14 members voting for Ham.
But the Post revealed on Thursday that Ham had withdrawn from her semi-final bout against Stamp Fairtex, which was set for October 29’s ONE: NextGen card, after suffering an injury in training.

The 34-year-old will be out of action for two months after breaking a finger, and now looks set to run it back with the Filipino “Lycan Queen”, who is still ranked No 1 in the division above No 2 Ham, despite her defeat.

The winner of the fight is likely to receive a future title shot, with divisional champion Angela Lee (10-2) set to return in February to defend her belt against the grand prix winner.

Ham has been replaced in the tournament semi-finals by Julie Mezabarba, who beat former title challenger Mei Yamaguchi on the prelims of the all-female Empower card to secure an alternate spot for the tournament.

ONE had initially lined up another alternate bout between Mezabarba and Zamboanga, but the Filipino has not been medically cleared to compete.

The 24-year-old Zamboanga suffered a huge cut on her forehead after an accidental clash of heads in the third round against Ham.

1