WATCH: Filipino star Denice Zamboanga's methodical beatdown of Lin Heqin in front of hometown Manila crowd
Before Denice 'The Menace' Zamboanga challenges MMA atomweight queen Stamp Fairtex at ONE 167 on June 7 at Impact Arena, re-watch her methodical beatdown of Lin Heqin in her hometown of Manila, Philippines.
Going into the bout, the Philippine-based striker was at odds with herself after MMA veteran Ham Seo Hee put a stop to her three-fight win streak with a pair of decision losses in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
With no other option but to move forward, Zamboanga dug deep into capturing her next win against Chinese superboxer Lin 'MMA sister' Heqin at ONE on Prime Video 5.
Zamboanga established control in the first round with a beautiful knockdown over her rival with a good right hand. Lin survived, returning fire with fire into the second round, wobbling 'The Menace' as well with a great left strike of her own.
However, Zamboanga's punching power was the deciding factor in this fight. Somewhere in between the rounds, the former Fairtex Training Center representative landed a strike that cut Lin above the eye. Even as the two continued firing strikes from inside the pocket, Zamboanga was the fresher fighter.
In front of a wild crowd in Manila, 'The Menace' re-established herself as a serious contender to the atomweight throne with a razor-close split-decision victory over Lin.
Before Zamboanga challenges former stablemate and friend Stamp Fairtex for the ONE atomweight gold at ONE 167, re-watch the full fight between Zamboanga and Lin below.
"They are both master tacticians" - Fans stoked to watch former Fairtex gym besties Stamp Fairtex and Denice Zamboanga collide at ONE 167
Stamp Fairtex couldn't find a better dance partner this year than Denice Zamboanga.
The two besties formerly trained at the Fairtex Training Center in Thailand, honing on their craft before the unforeseen pandemic split them apart. However, they knew that they would eventually compete against each other in the MMA cage. They just never imagined that it would happen four years later.
Despite being rivals, Stamp and Denice are still friends. They displayed their close friendship for all the world to see with a cheerful TikTok dance on Instagram last Friday after ONE Fight Night 21.
Check out how the fans reacted below:
ONE 167 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.