“I just stayed ready” – Denice Zamboanga knew her time would come after consecutive setbacks vs. Ham Seo Hee

Filipino atomweight fighter Denice Zamboanga hit a rough patch in her ONE Championship journey when she lost consecutive times to South Korean Ham Seo Hee. While that episode stung, she stayed the course and eventually it paid off for her.

‘The Menace’ is set to vie for the ONE atomweight MMA world title against reigning divisional queen Stamp Fairtex on March 1 at ONE 166: Qatar. The showdown is one of five world title fights slated for the first-ever live on-ground event in the Middle Eastern country.

She earned the nod for a world title shot as the second-ranked contender in the division and on the strength of back-to-back victories following the consecutive losses to Ham.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Denice Zamboanga shared her thoughts on her world title shot and how she handled the tough stretch she had to go through en route to it, saying:

“I was still ranked in the top five, I just kept training and stayed ready. Whoever they paired me up against, I was ready to fight them. I considered the wait as my stepping stone, for me to improve as a fighter and prepare for the title shot.”

Watch the interview below:

Denice Zamboanga was last in action in April last year, when she notched her second straight victory with a unanimous decision win over Brazilian Julie Mezabarba.

Stamp, meanwhile, will be making her first defense after becoming the ONE atomweight MMA world champion in September. She claimed the title vacated by longtime queen and now-retired Angela Lee with a third-round TKO victory over Ham.

ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.

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Denice Zamboanga staying level-headed heading into world title shot

Denice Zamboanga is in for arguably the biggest fight of her career when she sees action later this year. She, however, is trying to strike a balance with her emotions so as not to be derailed in her push.

After some time waiting, ‘The Menace’ is finally making a go at the world title on March 1 at ONE 166: Qatar. She will take on former Fairtex Gym teammate and reigning atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex in a marquee event.

Zamboanga knows how huge her next fight is but she said she will stay level-headed and focus on what she needs to do in training to come up with a championship-winning performance.

In the same interview with The MMA Superfan, she said:

“It hasn’t really sunk in with me yet, but my teammates keep saying that if I win this match, I’ll be the first Filipina MMA world champion. I don’t really consider it as added pressure on my part. I’ll just go with the flow. I’ll follow my game plan and do what I have to do.I treat it as extra motivation for me to be at my best and hopefully, represent the Philippines and make my countrymen proud.”

The world title shot is a long time coming for Denice Zamboanga, who was in line to vie for the world title against former champion Angela Lee. But the pregnancy of the now-retired Lee and then the pandemic prevented the fight from happening.