ONE 167: Eduard Folayang keen to see Denice Zamboanga’s ‘wrestling and ground game’ against Stamp
Former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Eduard Folayang is interested in how fellow Filipino fighter Denice Zamboanga will come out for her title bid later this year. In particular, he wants to see her ground game, which he believes will be key.
'The Menace' finally gets her long-sought world title shot at ONE 167 on June 7 in Bangkok, Thailand. She will vie for the ONE atomweight MMA championship belt currently held by friend and former teammate Stamp Fairtex.
Asked recently by ABS-CBN for his thoughts on Denice Zamboanga's scheduled title clash with Stamp, the Lions Nation MMA stalwart believes the 27-year-old fighter is going up against a formidable foe, but can get the job done provided she comes up with the fitting game plan, particularly taking the match down to the ground.
Folayang said:
"A few things I'm looking at in this match for Denice is her wresltling and ground game against Stamp."
Denice Zamboanga has won her last two matches, which she hopes to build on as she goes for her dream of becoming a world champion. Her latest victory came in April last year, where she defeated Brazilian Julie Mezabarba by unanimous decision.
Meanwhile, at ONE 167, Stamp will be defending the atomweight MMA world title for the first time after claiming the vacant strap back in September with a third-round TKO of South Korean Ham Seo Hee.
ONE 167: Stamp vs Zamboanga will take place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok and will be available live and for free in U.S. primetime on June 7 to North American fans via Amazon Prime Video.
Stamp says friendship with Denice Zamboanga will not be affected by title clash
Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex will be defending the ONE atomweight MMA world title for the first time in June against friend and former teammate Denice Zamboanga. She, however, was quick to say that their championship fight would in no way affect their friendship.
The two develop a bond during their training days at Fairtex Gym in Pattaya, Thailand. But while Zamboanga is now training with a different team, they remain friends and respect what each other has going in their respective careers.
In an interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Stamp shared her thoughts on her scheduled title clash with Denice Zamboanga on June 7 at ONE 167, especially in relation to them being friends.
The 26-year-old world champion said:
"I think I would just have to put the friendship behind for the fight for now and then like we just do like the best we could. We just have to be professional and like, you know, fight the best we can and then like after that we can remain friends."
Watch the full interview below:
Heading into ONE 167, Stamp has won seven of her last eight fights in ONE Championship, including the last four.