Denice Zamboanga says “it’s a huge motivation” to represent small gyms on the biggest stage of martial arts

Super gyms have long dominated the MMA landscape, but Denice Zamboanga wants to buck that trend the next time she steps between the ropes.

Zamboanga will take on Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world title at ONE Fight Night 27 on Jan. 10, 2025, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, the Filipino star said she wants to represent the smaller MMA gyms when she takes on Rassohyna in Bangkok.

Zamboanga added that training in a small gym, especially one based in the Philippines, should never be an obstacle to achieving greatness in the cutthroat sport of MMA.

"It’s really rare that a small gym would fight in an international competition and take home such an honor, especially for the country. So it’s really a huge motivation for our fighters as well as other fighters who train in smaller gyms or teams to pursue their MMA careers here in the Philippines."

Denice Zamboanga previously trained at Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand where she became close friends with ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex.

She ultimately returned home to the Philippines to join her older brother Drex at their gym TREX MMA in Manila.

Riding a three-fight winning streak, Zamboanga believes she's ready to take that next step and capture her first piece of ONE Championship gold when she steps between the ropes against Rassohyna.

ONE Fight Night 27 is ONE Championship's first Amazon card of 2025 and is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

Watch Zamboanga's entire interview below:

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Denice Zamboanga wants to become the face of women's MMA in the Philippines

The Philippines is one of the most successful countries in the history of ONE Championship.

The promotion saw six fighters of Filipino descent capture world titles, and Denice Zamboanga wants to become the first female fighter from the Philippines to capture a piece of ONE Championship gold.

In the same interview, Zamboanga said:

"The pressure is there. It will never go away. Whether I’m in the Philippines, going to a different gym here, or be it in Thailand, that’s what they all tell me - 'Philippines doesn’t have an MMA champion.' They know the history, that there hasn’t been a Filipina MMA world champion."

Brandon Vera, Eduard Folayang, Honorio Banario, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio and Joshua Pacio are the Philippines MMA world champions in ONE Championship.