Filipina MMA fighter Denice Zamboanga. Handout/ONE Championship
MANILA -- Denice Zamboanga knows she has plenty to prove when she walks into the Lumpinee Stadium on January 11, 2025 for her highly-anticipated ONE Interim Atomweight MMA World Title fight against Alyona Rassohyna.
Not only is the Filipina fighter highly motivated to finally claim a breakthrough title in ONE Championship, she is also eager to show that she can go toe-to-toe against her Ukrainian foe on the mat.
Zamboanga has heard rumblings from fans that Rassohyna is the better grappler between them, but she believes that her opponent's skills have yet to be fully tested.
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"I haven't seen her face a true grappler, or a wrestler," she said. "It's always a striker, which allows her to dominate on the ground. In this fight, I'd like to prove that I'm a better grappler."
The Filipina also believes that her recent activity will also fall to her advantage, especially as she's coming off a convincing but nonetheless tough fight against Noelle Grandjean just a few months ago.
Rassohyna, on the other hand, gave birth to her daughter and hasn't competed in quite some time.
"I feel like my main advantage would certainly be my activity. She hasn't competed in a long time, and I'm way more active," she said.
Still, that's the only advantage that Zamboanga thinks she'll have over Rassohyna. In fact, she expects the Ukrainian to be fired up in her return to ONE.
"I feel like she's gonna come out hungry," Zamboanga said. "Her hunger to win will be there. Her inspiration would be her family for sure."