Denice Zamboanga thinks highly of Julie Mezabarba: “I think she can do anything”

Third-ranked women’s atomweight contender Denice Zamboanga is not taking her ONE Fight Night 9 opponent Julie Mezabarba lightly.

Ahead of their showdown this Friday, April 21, at the fabled Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, ‘The Menace’ admitted she remains wary of the Brazilian’s versatile skillset.

Zamboanga shared in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post:

“I saw her fight. Her body is physically strong. I think she’s bigger than me and her striking is good. Her wrestling is good, her grappling is good. I think she’s a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, so I think she can do anything from striking to wrestling.”

Catch the full interview below:

Although both are lauded for being well-rounded in terms of striking and grappling, Zamboanga and Mezabarba are on opposite sides of the spectrum at the moment.

The Filipina standout, for one, is coming off a brilliant performance in her split decision victory over Lin Heqin last December. Mezabarba, on the other hand, failed to get her hand raised in her last two circle appearances, falling short against Stamp Fairtex and Jenelyn Olsim.

Safe to say, the unranked RD Champions representative has more to gain from this fight, since a decisive win will catapult her to the top five of the stacked division.

Zamboanga, meanwhile, can’t afford another hiccup, since she already has two consecutive losses to second-ranked Ham Seo Hee. As long as Denice Zamboanga remains uncomplacent, then she won’t be caught off guard by any surprises from the redemption-seeking Julie Mezabarba.

ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs Haggerty will air live in US primetime and free for Prime Video subscribers in North America.