‘She Hasn’t Faced Someone Like Me’ – Denice Zamboanga Oozes Confidence Ahead Of World Title Fight With Alyona Rassohyna
Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga is certain that she has a clear path to victory in her clash against Ukrainian powerhouse Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight MMA World Title.
The pair will throw down in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev on Prime Video live in U.S. primetime on Friday, January 10.
This must-watch battle will take place at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and it will guarantee the winner a World Title unification bout against reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex.
While “The Menace” is laser-focused on her own skills and preparation, she’s well aware that her opponent’s elite ground game will pose a unique challenge. After all, the 34-year-old Rassohyna boasts an incredible 11 submission victories across 13 career wins.
Notably, Rassohyna was also the first woman to defeat Stamp in MMA, submitting her with a last-second guillotine choke back in 2021.
Zamboanga has carefully studied that bout and is impressed by the Ukrainian’s unorthodox yet dangerous style of combat. She told onefc.com:
“In their fight, it was the first time I saw Stamp really struggle. I don’t think, before that, there was a fighter who really made it difficult for Stamp. It was only Alyona.
“I saw how well-rounded she is. She’s so unpredictable. There were a lot of unexpected moves, and that’s her strength.”
On paper, Rassohyna is perhaps the atomweight MMA division’s most talented submission artist. Zamboanga, though, has spotted some weaknesses in her foe’s grappling and plans to exploit them on January 10.
The Filipina superstar also strongly believes that Rassohyna simply hasn’t come up against a top-tier ground fighter yet – and that she’s in for a surprise in their matchup:
“I want to test her grappling. I haven’t seen her face a pure grappler or wrestler, as she’s faced strikers. That’s why she always dominates the ground game. She hasn’t faced someone like me. I want to prove that I’m better than her on the ground.
“My wrestling and BJJ have always been improving. I have a team in jiu-jitsu that truly focuses on me, they’re really analyzing my moves, my strengths and weaknesses to really improve my ground game.”
Although Zamboanga might not have as many submission wins on her record as Rassohyna, she’s proven time and time again to be an elite grappler with solid takedowns, superb positional control, and vicious ground-and-pound.
She aims to dominate the ground game if the fight goes to the canvas, but above all, she said her all-around skill set will be the biggest key to earning a highlight-reel victory:
“Being a well-rounded fighter is truly important in MMA. You can’t just focus on one thing. That’s why I’m so confident coming into every fight. I’m confident that I’ll get to finish her wherever it goes whether it be on the feet or on the ground.”
Zamboanga Hopes To Start 2025 In Style
Denice Zamboanga will come into her Interim World Title clash against Alyona Rassohyna riding a three-fight winning streak, and kicking off 2025 with another victory would be a dream come true.
“The Menace” will turn 28 years old just a few days after ONE Fight Night 27, and she can’t think of a better way to celebrate than owning a coveted golden belt:
“It’s going to be a big deal for me if I start the year with a win. I’m also gonna be celebrating my birthday this January as well, so I truly want to celebrate my birthday with a World Title.”
Zamboanga is more than ready to celebrate. Given the timing of the event, she’s had to forgo her typical holiday indulgences.
She said the timing has made her even more motivated to defeat Rassohyna in Bangkok:
“Of course, we all know that because of my training camp, I had to miss the holiday festivities, from Christmas to New Year’s celebrations. I can’t eat that much, so of course I want to start the year by celebrating. This year, I wish to start stronger.
“Maybe I’ll just vent my frustration on not being able to eat a lot and celebrate during the holidays with her.”
