Denice Zamboanga says Seo Hee Ham's punches are 'not that strong' ahead of ONE: X rematch

Denice Zamboanga is set for the biggest fight of her career when she takes on Asian MMA icon Seo Hee Ham in a rematch at ONE: X this Saturday.

Ham triumphed in their first encounter when she was awarded a controversial split decision at ONE: Empower in September. The result was taken to the now-defunct competition committee who upheld the ruling.

Now, Zamboanga has a chance to put things right, and having already gone toe to toe with the Korean, 'Lycan Queen' has suggested that her opponent's strikes lack potency. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda MMA's Dylan Bowker, she said:

'Having the time has really helped me a lot to improve my game. I think I need to change our gameplan a little bit. I already fought with her on the feet. I can manage her on striking. Her punches don't make me wiggle or drop. Her punches for me are not that strong,' Zamboanga explained. 'I just need to finish the fight, always, and don't leave it to the judges,' she added.

Ham is currently riding a six-fight winning streak. Four of those six wins came via knockout. However, those are the only four KO's the former Rizin champ has registered in her pro career. The remainder of her 24 victories came via submission (3) or decision (17).

Catch the full interview below:

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Zamboanga believes a future clash with Angela Lee got 'personal' for the champion

Like Zamboanga, Angela Lee will be competing at ONE: X and will be defending her title against Denice's former teammate, Stamp Fairtex.

If both Zamboanga and Lee win their fights on Saturday, then fans are set for a fascinating clash between the pair - and one that's been sizzling along for over a year. Before Lee took a break from the sport to have her first child, she was strongly linked to fighting the Marrok Force fighter.

The Bangkok-based star felt she should have had a chance to compete for an interim belt during the hiatus, and that sentiment erupted into a war of words with both women keen to settle their differences inside the circle.

"There's a lot of people who want to see us fight after all the controversy and back and forth comments between us I think a lot of people are very hard on our fight, so i'm still looking forward to matching up with Angela," said the No.2-ranked atomweight. "In my opinion she makes it personal. We used to follow each other on instagram but after the back and forth she unfollowed me so I think for her it's personal."

With so many of the top atomweights competing on the card, Saturday's festivities will have some fascinating permutations for what's fast-become the most exciting division in ONE Championship.