“It hits different” - Denice Zamboanga loves breaking the mold, wants to see more women compete in MMA

Denice Zamboanga is a champion inside and outside the cage.

The undisputed ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion is a strong proponent of women's empowerment in combat sports and has always wanted to be the beacon that female fighters would seek to follow in MMA.

In an interview with Carlo Perruzza, Zamboanga said she wants women to continue breaking the mold and achieving success in martial arts.

The Filipino superstar added that she's often heard older people decry her attempts to break into MMA growing up, and she wouldn't want the next generation to experience such moments.

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Denice Zamboanga said:

"Yeah, I love to see women fighting, especially here in MMA, because a lot of people say, 'Oh, you're a girl, I don't want to see you get punched in the face, you're so pretty. Maybe it's too dangerous for you.' But the adrenaline going into the cage and fighting, it hits different."

After dominating the regional scenes, Zamboanga ultimately made her way to the global stage in ONE Championship in 2019.

'The Menace' started at a blistering pace with a three-fight winning streak but got her momentum halted when she lost two close fights to nemesis Ham Seo Hee in 2021 and 2022.

Nevertheless, Zamboanga recovered with a four-fight winning streak culminating in her second-round stoppage of Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world title.

Zamboanga was then supposed to take on close friend Stamp Fairtex in a world title unification match, but the Thai megastar was forced out of the match after reaggravating her injured left knee in training camp.

Stamp agreed to relinquish the ONE women's atomweight MMA world title, pushing Zamboanga to undisputed status.

Watch Zamboanga's entire interview below:

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Denice Zamboanga hopes to defend her world title in Manila

Denice Zamboanga wants to start her reign as the ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion in the city where she began her martial arts dreams.

In an interview with Nick Atkin, Zamboanga revealed that her fans have asked her if she would defend her throne in Manila. She said:

"I hate requesting because I don't think I have that position to request, but hopefully ONE Championship sees this video and then they make an event in the Philippines. Because a lot of Filipinos are asking, 'When is the event in Manila going to happen?"

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Edited by Tejas Rathi