By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Filipina mixed martial artist (MMA) Denice Zamboanga will finally get her revenge against rival Seo Hee Ham on ONE X, March 26, 2022 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Tagged to be one of the most controversial fights to take place on ONE, the shocking loss gave the Filipina her the first-ever defeat in her professional MMA career.
Ham won their first bout with all the three judges scoring a unanimous decision win but were waved off by thousands of MMA fans and analysts, insisting that Zamboanga should’ve won the fight fair and square.
Even ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong made a public announcement about the fight and shared that it was Zamboanga who he thought won the fight.
“I personally had Denice winning the fight. I had Denice winning on cage control, takedowns, and ground action. I can see why the judges scored for Ham. Ham did have the heavier and cleaner punches and did have the damage,” Sityodtong said.
In the first round of the fight, Ham did quick damage to Zamboanga’s face through her on-point striking but the Filipina stormed back with several clean takedowns that established her long time in the ground control game.
However, due to the barrage of complaints and controversy, Sityodtong and the ONE management called for an official review and stood by their initial decision that Ham won the fight.
“Sobrang grateful ko na binigyan nila ako ng chance. Sobrang excited ako siyempre kasi opportunity yun na prove ko na ako yung nanalo,” said Zamboanga.
The second bout between Zamboanga and Ham will feature a stacked card in dedication to ONE’s 10th anniversary which will have MMA legend Demetrius Johnson squaring off again Muay Thai great Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a crossover fight.
