Denice Zamboanga adopting a "mindset of champions" in dealing with recent setbacks in fighting career

ONE women's atomweight MMA linchpin Denice Zamboanga credited her mental fortitude with helping her overcome the tribulations she has faced in her ONE Championship career.

'The Menace' shared the following in an interview with The MMA Superfan:

"When I face challenges like that, ups and downs, delays, and everything, of course, I will sometimes reach a point where I lose my motivation to move forward. I have thought before that maybe it's not really for me. But eventually, I realized that I was just getting more prepared. I used it as my motivation to make me stronger. I feel like that is the mindset of champions."

She later added:

"It's like, the champion's mindset is to never give up, and you still have to keep moving forward whatever challenges come your way."

Zamboanga has been slated to fight for the ONE women's atomweight MMA world championship on two occasions, but circumstances beyond her control shelved both bouts.

She was supposed to challenge then-reigning women's 115-pound MMA queen Angela Lee towards the end of 2020, but the latter revealed her pregnancy in October of that year.

About two weeks before defending the crown at ONE 167 in June against Zamboanga, ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex withdrew from the event after tearing the meniscus in her left knee during training camp.

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Denice Zamboanga to challenge for interim gold in 2025

Denice Zamboanga will look to reinforce her shot at the undisputed crown by claiming the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world championship at ONE Fight Night 27 on Jan. 10, 2025.

Standing in her way inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, is renowned grappler Alyona Rassohyna, who is gunning for a rubber match with Stamp after trading wins in their 2021 duology.

ONE Fight Night 27 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.