"I never really stopped training" - Denice Zamboanga cautious not to aggravate hamstring injury ahead of title shot

Second-ranked ONE women's atomweight MMA competitor Denice Zamboanga has consistently proven that she deserves to fight for the division's top prize, but circumstances out of her control shelved previous opportunities.

Despite a recent injury, Zamboanga is determined to claim her first ONE world championship in just a few days.

Speaking with the world's largest martial arts promotion, 'The Menace' opened up on her hamstring injury and how it ultimately did not affect her training:

"My training continued. Even though I suffered a minor injury, I never really stopped training. I avoided straining my hamstring. That's the only thing I took care of, but I stayed active even with the minor injury."

After missing out on her opportunity at the undisputed crown following the pregnancy of then-reigning queen Angela Lee in 2020, Zamboanga was set to challenge current ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex at ONE 167 this past June.

However, Stamp pulled out of the event after suffering a torn meniscus in training camp just a few weeks before their anticipated showdown.

With Stamp on the mend, the 27-year-old will face Alyona Rassohyna for 26 pounds of interim women's atomweight MMA gold at ONE Fight Night 27 on Friday, Jan. 10.

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Denice Zamboanga foresees a finish against Alyona Rassohyna

Denice Zamboanga's confidence in her skills has kept growing as she continued to rack up wins in ONE. So great is her belief in herself that she expects to finish Alyona Rassohyna inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

In a recent interview with ABS-CBN, Zamboanga mentioned:

"I'm confident that I'll get to finish her wherever it goes, whether it be on the feet or on the ground."

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