Dennis Zamboanga has been waiting a long time. He has been on the brink of an atomweight title shot since 2019, and last Saturday at ONE 167, he proved himself as the number one contender in the division with a unanimous decision win over Noel Grandjean.
Zamboanga knows she will have to wait longer to fight for the title after champion Stamp Fairtex recently underwent knee surgery, and while the Filipino wants the bout, she has no intention of sitting on the sidelines waiting for the Thai fighter to recover.
Zamboanga told The Post that he believes ONE Championship should introduce an interim belt while Stamp is sidelined.
“I've waited a long time for this and I feel I deserve to fight for the interim belt. I was ready five years ago and I was supposed to fight the champion. I feel I deserve the interim belt.”
Zamboanga has won three straight bouts to make a convincing case, and with the only other challenger in this division who has shown similar form being Chihiro Sawada, the Japanese wrestler is definitely on her radar.
Ham So Hee, who defeated Zamboanga twice, is also a contender, but the Filipino has his eyes set solely on Sawada.
“I like Sawada's style because it's new to me and I've never fought a pure wrestler before.”
With the bout said to be decided by style, Zamboanga found herself faced with a completely different type of challenge than she had prepared for at ONE 167. After months of preparing to face Muay Thai specialist Stamp, she was finally put to the test against multiple-time judo champion Grandjean.
Zamboanga controlled the striking exchanges and threatened for submissions in the first round, winning fairly comfortably but said he had to make some last-minute adjustments.
“I was supposed to be fighting in a championship and I've been preparing for six months. I was supposed to fight with striking but then I ended up fighting a black belt in judo so I had to change my game plan and it forced me to make a lot of changes.”
This is Zamboanga's fifth consecutive time running this distance. The 27-year-old's only disappointment is not finishing ahead of Grandjean.
“I thought I could beat her but she choked me in the first round, so it's disappointing, but I'm happy that I won by unanimous decision.”
Whether or not ONE Championship introduces an interim title, it looks like she’ll be facing a clash with Stamp.
Zamboanga has made it clear he wants the matchup and believes there will be a lot of public interest in seeing the showdown between the two former Fairtex teammates.
“I hope so. I'm not the only one who wants that fight. Everybody wants to see that fight.”
