“I fell in love with martial arts” - Denice Zamboanga bares how karate influenced her to pursue a career in combat sports
Denice Zamboanga talked about falling in love with martial arts while training in karate.
Zamboanga, aged 28, has become a fixture in the ONE women's atomweight division. Similar to most fighters, 'The Menace' started with a particular fighting discipline before evolving into MMA.
While speaking to Atleta Filipina, Zamboanga had this to say about her early days of karate training:
"When I was fighting in karate, that was the time I had self-confidence, and I fell in love with martial arts because I liked the feeling of winning and losing. I liked that I am able to fight someone and I am hitting someone."
On January 10, Denice Zamboanga fought Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world title. Zamboanga emerged victorious by second-round knockout, setting up a unification bout against her close friend and former training partner, Stamp Fairtex.
Watch Zamboanga's entire interview with Atleta Filipina below:
Denice Zamboanga talked about her friendship with Stamp Fairtex
On August 1, Denice Zamboanga and Stamp Fairtex will unify the ONE women's atomweight MMA division during the ONE 173 main event. The world-class fighters were once training partners at Fairtex Training Center, forming a friendship explained by Zamboanga during the previously mentioned interview:
"When I started training in Thailand, I trained with her. We were sparring partners - for five five-minute rounds, we were together. There’s a lot of girls there, but we were the ones who were matched up when it came to sparring."
Zamboanga followed up by saying:
"After training, we would have dinner together. So our closeness has always been there, and we are close friends."
Denice Zamboanga was initially supposed to challenge Stamp Fairtex for the ONE women's atomweight MMA throne in June 2024. Unfortunately, Stamp suffered a torn MCL while training, leaving her sidelined for the last year and a half.
While Stamp recovered from her injury, Zamboanga secured consecutive wins against Noelle Grandjean and Alyona Rassohyna, solidifying her as the interim title holder and number one contender for Stamp's throne.
ONE 173 represents the promotion's return to North America. The August 1 event goes down inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.