Denice Zamboanga TKOs Alyona Rassohyna, Becomes Interim Atomweight MMA World Champion
After years of cancelations, postponements, and injuries, most of which were beyond her control, Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga finally realized her dream of holding ONE Championship gold.
On January 10 in U.S. primetime, the #2-ranked contender finished #4-ranked Alyona Rassohyna to claim the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title at ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev on Prime Video in Bangkok, Thailand.
This happened not only in front of a packed Lumpinee Stadium crowd – but also in front of current divisional queen Stamp Fairtex, who Zamboanga will face next to unify the World Title.
At the start of round one, Zamboanga fought from her feet, zinging Rassohyna with punches. But the Ukrainian shot for a takedown and dragged the Filipina to the canvas. Once there, Rassohyna hunted for an armbar, which the 27-year-old craftily escaped.
In the second frame, “The Menace” went back to her striking, touching up Rassohyna on the outside. Under pressure, Rassohyna shot in once again to take Zamboanga down.
This time, the Filipina got side control and began raining down elbows and hammerfists until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 4:47 of round two.
With the victory, Zamboanga scored a slew of extra accolades aside from the interim strap, including a US$50,000 performance bonus and the right to be called the first Filipina in history to win an MMA World Title.
Fans can also check out bout recaps from the ONE Fight Night 27 supporting card here.
