“I truly deserve to be the champion” - Denice Zamboanga says she wasn’t discouraged with the delays to her shot at gold

Denice Zamboanga is leaving her misfortunes in the past as she heads into the biggest fight of her career so far. The Filipino star will take on Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world title at the stacked ONE Fight Night 27 card on Jan. 10, 2025 at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

If all things fall into place, this will be the first time that Zamboanga challenges for a piece of ONE Championship gold after her previous attempts got derailed due to injury.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Denice Zamboanga said she looked at the silver lining following the cancellation of her initial attempts at gold. She said:

"So I took (the delay) positively. I think I wasn’t given that fight before because I couldn’t handle it yet. But this time, in January 2025, you guys will know that I truly deserve to be the champion"

'The Menace' was originally set to challenge her good friend and former training partner Stamp Fairtex for the ONE women's atomweight MMA world title at ONE 167.

Stamp, however, suffered a meniscus tear in training and had to pull out of the match. Zamboanga, meanwhile, stayed on the card and faced Noelle Grandjean instead.

After dominating Noelle Grandjean for the unanimous decision win, Zamboanga was penciled in to face Rassohyna for the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world title at ONE Fight Night 25. That match was also postponed after Zamboanga suffered a hamstring injury in training camp.

Nevertheless, Denice Zamboanga will have her matchup against Rassohyna at ONE Championship's first Amazon card of 2025. ONE Fight Night 27 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Denice Zamboanga says Stamp Fairtex showed her the blueprint to beating Alyona Rassohyna

The friendship between Denice Zamboanga and Stamp Fairtex is no secret to ONE Championship fans. Although they've gone on to different gyms, the former buddies at Fairtex Training Center remain close and Zamboanga said Stamp's previous match against Alyona Rassohyna gave her the blueprint to beating the Ukrainian star.

In the same interview with The MMA Superfan, Zamboanga said she can pull out her notes from when she helped Stamp in the Thai superstar's victory over Rassohyna at ONE: Empower. She said:

"It really helps a lot that I trained with Stamp before and I will face someone who she fought before because I will get to compare both of their skills. I think seeing how Stamp can outstrike her and how she defended against takedowns and submissions really helps a lot in my own preparations."

Watch Zamboanga's entire interview below: