“Philippines, we made it!” - Denice Zamboanga in high heavens after becoming first female Filipino MMA world champion

Denice Zamboanga dedicates interim world title victory to the Philippines. [Photo from ONE Championship]
Denice Zamboanga dedicates interim world title victory to the Philippines. [Photo from ONE Championship]

Denice Zamboanga fought to make her dreams a reality.

Just as she manifested, Zamboanga captured the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world title when she stopped Alyona Rassohyna in the second round of their ONE Fight Night 27 showdown this past weekend.

Zamboanga also became the first female Filipino MMA world champion when she lofted the gold on her shoulders in front of an ecstatic Bangkok crowd at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

Taking to Instagram, Zamboanga dedicated her history-defining win to her country while showing her appreciation to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong for the opportunity at gold.

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'The Menace' also thanked her team especially her fiance Fritz Biagtan and older brother Drex.

Denice Zamboanga posted:

"Philippines, we made it! 🇵🇭🏆 God always has a reason for every delay. ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’. Jeremiah 29:11. Hard work. Sweat. Blood. Sacrifices."

She added:

"Thank you ONE Championship, Khun Chatri for giving me opportunity to represent my country in this sport."

Zamboanga was an unstoppable force the moment the opening bell rang for the biggest fight of her career.

Using her boxing, Zamboanga maintained control over Rassohyna in the first round before ultimately relying on her grappling base in the second.

Zamboanga smelled blood in the water in the second round and proceeded to batter Rassohyna with vicious ground-and-pound until Herb Dean called for a stop to the contest 4:47 into the second round.

'The Menace' joined Brandon Vera, Eduard Folayang, Honorio Banario, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, and Joshua Pacio as the Filipino fighters who held MMA gold in ONE Championship.

Fans in the United States and Canada can watch replays of ONE Fight Night 27 on demand for free at Prime Video.


Denice Zamboanga says stoppage win over Alyona Rassohyna one of the best performances of her career

Denice Zamboanga knew that the beating she dished out against Alyona Rassohyna marked one of the defining moments of her career.

In her post-fight interviews, Zamboanga said her TKO win over Rassohyna cemented her status as one of the division's best, especially with how she utterly dominated her Ukrainian counterpart.

"I guess yes, because I had never finished my opponent by TKO while ranked and active, like the ranked fighters in our division."

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Edited by Tejas Rathi
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