“It’s still a fight” - Teen phenom Johan Ghazali tells Denice Zamboanga to throw with utmost intensity against Stamp at ONE 167
Johan Ghazali has one simple piece of advice for Denice Zamboanga in her career-changing matchup against Stamp Fairtex: get as aggressive as possible. The teenage phenom believes Zamboanga can surprise Stamp with a wild and versatile striking game plan when she challenges for the ONE women's atomweight MMA world title at ONE 167.
Zamboanga, the number two contender in the women's atomweight MMA division, will face Stamp for the gold on June 7, US primetime, at Impact Arena.
Ghazali, in an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, said Stamp would have the obvious advantage over Zamboanga, but it's still a fight that the Filipino star could take over if she gets into an aggressive assault from the opening bell.
"For Denice, her biggest chance I would say is for her to just take the fight to Stamp, use her hands or feet to get some damage," said Johan Ghazali. "It's really hard to imagine anything really swinging her way, but, you know, dude, it's still a fight. Anything can happen."
Stamp and Zamboanga were former training partners at Fairtex Training Center, but the world title challenger left the Pattaya, Thailand, gym a couple of years ago to join her older brother Drex's stable T-Rex MMA in Manila.
Zamboanga has a similar strike-heavy style to Stamp's and she used that approach to capture two straight wins over Lin Heqin and Julie Mezabarba for a shot at the division's top prize.
ONE 167 is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
Johan Ghazali aims for a KO finish against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat
While Johan Ghazali keeps his eye on the ONE 167 main event, he's also busy preparing for his fight against Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat in the card's undercard.
Nguyen is arguably Ghazali's toughest opponent in ONE Championship, but the 17-year-old is ready to bring absolute bedlam against the multi-time Muay Thai world champion:
"You already know what I'm gonna bring, knockout power. And I will be looking for another one against Nguyen. Win or lose, you know, I'm just gonna stick to my style to get the job done," said Ghazali in the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA.