"Been waiting for this for so long" - Denice Zamboanga says it's time to reap the fruits of her hard work at ONE Fight Night 27

Second-ranked atomweight MMA contender Denice Zamboanga was forced to deal with a couple of misfortunes in a pair of world title contests last year. Those incidents, though, have only lit up a fire in her.

The T-Rex MMA representative was initially booked to challenge longtime stablemate Stamp Fairtex on the promotion's return to Bangkok's Impact Arena in June last year. Unfortunately, the ONE atomweight MMA world champion had to withdraw two weeks from ONE 167 after tearing her meniscus during camp.

Though Zamboanga enjoyed a dominant win over short-notice replacement Noelle Grandjean, which later on earned her a crack at the interim crown against Alyona Rassohyna — tragedy came knocking at her door once more.

This time, it was the 27-year-old's turn to pull out from another five-round battle due to a hamstring injury deep into her preparation.

Thankfully, the stars are now aligned for Denice Zamboanga to create history in a matter of days as she gets another shot at the provisional gold against Rassohyna at ONE Fight Night 27 inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 10.

Speaking to Nick Atkin, the Filipina warrior bared her excitement to finally battle for 26 pounds of gold under the ONE Championship spotlight:

"I'm very excited, of course. We've been waiting for this for so long. So very excited."

Watch the full interview here:

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Alyona Rassohyna aims to ruin Denice Zamboanga's dreams on fight night

Like Denice Zamboanga, Alyona Rassohnya has the opportunity of a lifetime to propel her brand into stardom at ONE Fight Night 27.

After stepping away from competition to raise her family, the Ukraine star's motivation to add another winning chapter to her long career is second to none.

With the interim crown on the line and a trilogy against three-sport superstar Stamp in the offing, Rassohyna will do everything she can to come out victorious.

She told ONE Championship separately:

"If I had even a little bit of doubt in my abilities or I wasn't ready, let's say, after giving birth, I would have given this opportunity to other girls. But because I'm confident in my abilities, I'm going to work my hardest."

ONE Fight Night 27 will be available live in U.S. primetime for free to active Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.