Zamboanga retains top contender rank despite controversial loss

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipina mixed martial arts fighter Denice Zamboanga is still ONE’s No.1 atomweight contender despite suffering her first loss against Korean Seo Hee Ham during their ONE Women’s Atomweight Grand Prix bout.

This comes after ONE released their updated MMA fighter rankings where the Filipina brawler ended up at the same position she obtained the past ONE Athlete Rankings.

With this result, Zamboanga still has the chance to have a showdown with the current world champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee in the future.

Zamboanga recorded her first MMA loss in a controversial fight against the heavy-hitting Ham where most of the fans and critics including ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong thought the Filipina won the slugfest.

It was a clear ground-control game for Zamboanga the whole three rounds where she scored successful takedowns including one impressive body slam in the last round and gained total control in the last one minute of the fight.

On the other hand, Ham connected on her signature hooks and jabs for the whole three rounds including four clean hits in the second round.

Will ONE reward Zamboanga with a rematch against Ham or will they grant her with her long-awaited duel with Lee?