Ham Seo Hee vs Denice Zamboanga during the ONE X event at Singapore Indoor Stadium. ONE CHAMPIONSHIP PHOTO
SINGAPORE– Filipino fighter Denice Zamboanga couldn’t get her revenge as Ham Seo Hee dominated in their atomweight rematch at ONE X on Saturday at Singapore Indoor Stadium here.
Ham was simply superior on the ground against Zamboanga to earn that convincing unanimous decision this time, finally putting an end to the controversies that surrounded their first match in September 2021 where she won via a much-contested split decision.
The South Korean veteran, who even struggled making weight and passing the hydration tests on Friday, was emotional in the post-fight press conference.
Ham Seo Hee 🇰🇷 leaves no doubt in her rematch with Denice Zamboanga! #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship#ONEX | PPV: 8PM SGT/8AM ET | Order PPV: https://t.co/eBUfsODAFL pic.twitter.com/X40DkVpyYf
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 26, 2022
“After our first bout. I also didn’t feel good after I won because I was criticized a lot. My heart was hurt you know,” Ham said through a translator.
Zamboanga, who believed she had won their first fight, had a few clean takedowns but Ham, showcasing her impressive takedown defense, just never budged.
“Our game plan in our first bout was to let her wrestle, but after that I was criticized a lot. People thought I couldn’t grapple,” said Ham, who hiked her record to 25-8 including eight straight wins.
“This time, my game plan was to strike but deep inside I wanted to show people to prove I’m a well-rounded athlete.”
Zamboanga, who slipped to No. 2 in the atomweight contender rankings after that loss to Ham, has now lost back to back for an 8-2 record.