Denice Zamboanga wants interim atomweight shot vs in-form Chihiro Sawada: “It’ll be interesting”

With reigning ONE atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex out of action due to an unfortunate injury, second-ranked divisional contender Denice Zamboanga believes she deserves a shot at becoming the division's interim queen.

Originally set to square off with Stamp, 'The Menace' instead founder herself standing across from Thai-French standout Noelle Grandjean inside the sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok for ONE 167 this past Friday, June 7.

Zamboanga dominated the three-round scrap, scoring her third-straight victory and potentially solidifying her spot as the next woman in line for a world title opportunity.

Speaking with the South China Morning Post, Denice Zamboanga called for an interim title fight between herself and undefeated Japanese standout Chihiro Sawada.

"I think I deserve to fight for the interim because I’ve waited for this moment for so long," Zamboanga said. "I’ve already been in the ranking for five years, I was supposed to fight the champion, but yeah, I think I really deserve the interim world title belt."

"[For the interim world title] I think I’d like to fight Sawada. I’ve never fought a pure wrestling fighter. So it’ll be interesting," she added.

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Denice Zamboanga still holding out hope for a fight with Stamp Fairtex

With her win over Grandjean at ONE 167, Denice Zamboanga is now an impressive 11-2 record in mixed martial arts, 6-2 under the ONE Championship banner—her losses coming against the division's No.1-ranked contender, Ham Seo Hee.

Depending on how long Stamp Fairtex is expected to be on the sidelines after undergoing surgery, 'The Menace' would be the perfect candidate for an interim title opportunity.

However, Zamboanga hopes all roads inevitably lead her to a showdown with the Thai superstar.

"Hopefully, [it happens]," she told Sportskeeda MMA of the long-awaited scrap with Stamp. "It’s just not me expecting the fight. It’s just not me, everyone wants to see that fight. So I hope she recovers and we can fight."

If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 167 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.