Following their controversial matchup in 2021, Denice Zamboanga and Seo Hee Ham will face each other once again inside the ONE Championship Circle at ONE X on Saturday, March 26.
The two first squared off in the quarterfinals of the ONE women’s atomweight world grand prix at ONE: Empower last September, with the debuting South Korean narrowly edging out the then-top-ranked contender Zamboanga by split decision. However, many believed the scorecards went in the wrong direction that night.
The Filipina star put on a convincing show and utilized her size and grappling skill to put her stamp on the early stages of the bout. But, the longtime veteran Ham put her hands together in the later rounds and exhibited her superior striking to the judges as the affair drew on.
Ham was handed the win, but she was unable to advance in the tournament. She withdrew from the semifinals due to an injury and was replaced by Brazilian Julie Mezabarba. Now that Ham has recovered, the rematch has been inked, per the promotion, and the two atomweight dynamos will meet to settle the score, with the winner potentially putting themselves into contention to meet the winner of the main event at ONE X. The tenth-anniversary show will be headlined by the return of ONE atomweight champ Angela Lee, who will put her belt on the line against ONE atomweight grand prix winner Stamp Fairtex.
A title shot seems to be within reach for Ham and Zamboanga, both top-five ranked atomweight contenders, but the budding rivalry will be on their minds first and foremost. Neither woman has held back when expressing their views on how the first encounter went down, and they will be highly motivated to affirm their positions at ONE’s epic tenth-anniversary event.
The grudge match is yet another high-profile addition to an already stacked card at ONE X, which broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday, March 26.