March 29, 2024

Filipino fans will have to wait longer before they could witness Denice Zamboanga compete in the first all-women’s Grand Prix in ONE Championship.

The Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion has announced the ONE women’s strawweight Grand Prix featuring eight women fighters originally set on May 28 has been postponed to a later date due to Covid-19 concerns.

Zamboanga has been matched against South Korean veteran Seo Hee Ham in the preliminary rounds.

It’s no secret a lot of fans and analysts believe the South Korean fighter is the odds-on favorite to beat Zamboanga and the one to move on to win the whole Grand Prix.

After all, Seo is one of the most feared fighters in the division for more than a decade, having terrorized opponents in her days competing in various MMA promotions such as the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

But one of Zamboanga’s coaches at Marrok Force in Bangkok, Thailand believes fans will be shocked and in awe with how the former will take home the victory and score a massive upset.

“I’ve been working with Denice every day and she is so hungry and motivated to win this fight. I can feel the excitement and confidence in her. This is a great fight and I believe fans will be very happy to watch it,” said William Aranguiz, director for MMA at Marrok Force.

Aranguiz is a former Chilean MMA fighter who now guides the talents at Marrok Force, inclu-ding Zamboanga and her older brother, fellow ONE Championship talent, Drex.

The coach has been impressed by Zamboanga’s work ethic since joining the gym last year and believes she possesses the right mindset required to reach immense success.  – Harley F. Palangchao