Monday, March 15, 2021

Denice Zamboanga faces tough opening matchup in ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix

The road for Denice Zamboanga to get a crack at the ONE Women's Atomweight championship is already set, with the recent reveal of the matchups for the World Grand Prix.

The lady called "The Menace" is slated to face Seo Hee Ham in the quarterfinals. The Korean was the Atomweight Champion at Rizin before joining ONE Championship. Ham can also count on her experience in Deep, Jewels, Road FC, and even the UFC.

Upon learning of the matchup, Denice shares, "Ham is a very experienced fighter, the most experienced out of all of us. I'm not taking her lightly by any means. She's held multiple world titles in different organizations, and she's a legit, well-rounded striker."

Zamboanga and her camp is taking their upcoming matchup seriously, and is very much aware of Ham's capabilities, one that qualifies as her toughest test so far in her stint with ONE Championship.

Denice adds, "My team and I are studying her previous fights for sure, looking for anything we can exploit. But I don't see any weaknesses in her. She's a complete fighter. We know she's incredible with her hands, and she's a southpaw. I don't have much experience facing southpaws. Her straight punch is her most dangerous weapon."

She also says, "It's going to be a tough challenge, no doubt. I think this is the biggest challenge I could face in this tournament, especially for a first-round matchup. But this is what I live for, to test myself against the best. I didn't get to where I am by facing easy opponents. I'm heading into this fight with the best Denice Zamboanga you've ever seen."

Aside from Zamboanga-Ham, the remaining quarterfinal matchups will see Meng Bo against Ritu Phogat, Stamp Fairtex against Alyona Rassohyna II, and Itsuki Hirata against Alyse Anderson. These matchups will comprise the undercard of ONE: EMPOWER, ONE's all-female fight card set for May 28.

The main event of ONE: EMPOWER involves ONE Women's Strawweight World Champion Xiong Jing Nan, as she defends her title against Michelle Nicolini.

The ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix champion secures a title opportunity against current World Champion Angela Lee later this year.

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