Denice Zamboanga. Photo from ONE Championship
MANILA, Philippines–While Denice Zamboanga is up against a decorated veteran fighter, her coach doesn’t think she’s going in as the underdog against Korea’s Seo Hee Ham in their ONE Atomweight Grand Prix bout.
While Seo has built an impressive career for herself competing in several promotions including Rizin FF and the UFC before joining ONE Championship, Marrok Force coach William Aranguiz believes Zamboanga has the tools to pull off a massive upset.
“I’ve been working with Denice everyday 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 Aranguiz, Director for Mixed Martial Arts at Marrok Force in Bangkok where Zamboanga is training.
“We developed a very robust training camp for her, designed with everything she needs to beat Seo Hee Ham. Our entire coaching staff has complete confidence that she will defeat Seo and move on to the next round.”
The two fighters face off in ONE: Empower on May 28.
The Chilean mentor said Zamboanga has turned “into an absolute beast” through her 12 weeks of gruelling training for the highly anticipated fight.
“Denice is just a different fighter right now. We’ve really transformed her into an absolute beast. She is much more controlled now, and we’ve tightened up her game a lot. Her boxing and wrestling have improved tremendously.”
“I just don’t see Denice as being the underdog. I know Denice doesn’t feel that way either. Denice is one of the best fighters in the world in the atomweight division, bar none. And now is her time to shine. She is the number one contender for a reason.”
With what he has seen from her fighter so far, Aranguiz has no trouble believing that Zamboanga will be declared the winner in what is promising to be an action-packed, “bloody” fight as Seo puts.
“Denice is going to shock the world on May 28,” Aranguiz said.