MMA News: Denice Zamboanga Fully Expects Seo Hee Ham To Go All Out At ONE X

Saturday, March 26 is set to be the date for ONE Championship’s 20-fight extravaganza dubbed "ONE X," and it will feature the grudge match between women’s atomweight contenders Denice Zamboanga and Seo Hee Ham.

Zamboanga spoke to International Business Times sports editor and combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano ahead of her rematch against the South Korean sensation.

Icasiano disclosed to Zamboanga that he had spoken with Ham last week about the latter wanting to be “herself” in their upcoming matchup as she was not as sharp in their first fight, a statement that “The Lycan Queen” agreed with.

“What she (Ham) said was true. I wasn’t expecting that her performance in our first fight would be like that since, to me, it felt like she was very conservative with her offense. It’s as if she focused on defending against my strikes and then countering with shots of her own,” Zamboanga remarked.

“That’s not how she usually fights and it was completely different from her past fights. But now, I’m expecting that she shows who she really is in our upcoming fight.”

Zamboanga and Ham met in the quarterfinals of the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix in September, a matchup that observers expected would be filled with action.

However, it turned out that the Filipina was the one who would come out as the aggressor and Ham was uncharacteristically defensive through most of it.

Ham went on to be awarded the victory by split decision, an outcome that had most pundits and fans scratching their heads.

When asked about how she plans on avenging her loss to Ham, Zamboanga had a simple but effective answer: “I am going for the submission and I am going to put her (Ham) to sleep.”

Other than the rematch, one fight that surely has Zamboanga’s attention is that of Angela Lee’s defense of her women’s atomweight title versus the winner of the said World Grand Prix in Stamp Fairtex.

Icasiano took the opportunity to ask Zamboanga whether her friendship with Stamp would take precedence over a potential title tilt should Stamp take the title over Lee.

“It would just be a business fight. I asked her (Stamp) before if she would be fine fighting me and she told me that she was completely fine with it because it would be like as if we were just sparring. I think we both wouldn’t mind fighting each other since it’s just business and it is not personal at all,” Zamboanga explained.

The bout between Zamobanga and Ham is slated on the second card of ONE X, which will begin at 5 PM SGT (5 AM ET) on Saturday, March 26.

The three-card extravaganza of ONE X will kick off at 1 PM SGT (1 AM ET), while the women’s atomweight title fight will happen on the 8 PM SGT (8 AM ET) card titled as the “Grand Finale.”

The event will be streamed globally (save for some territories) from ONE Championship's offiical website.