“Continue the legacy” - Atomweight champ Denice Zamboanga ready to carry Philippine MMA’s torch into next era

The Philippines always had a storied MMA history, and Denice Zamboanga is confident she can help carry the nation into its new era in the sport.

The reigning ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion is one of two Filipinos with MMA gold, the other being ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio.

In an interview with Carlo Perruzza, Zamboanga said she wants to defend her throne as soon as possible and help carry the legacy of Philippine MMA into the next generation.

Zamboanga added that her world title defense could inspire Filipino women to at least take up MMA.

She said:

"For this year, I want to fight at least one before the end of this year. But I want to defend this belt as soon as I can. Like I want to defend it because I want to continue the legacy of the Filipino fighters, and I want the young Filipino female fighters to be inspired and develop themselves to become world champions as well."

Denice Zamboanga made history in January this year when she became the first female fighter of Filipino descent to hold an MMA world title when she stopped Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE interim women's atomweight MMA world championship.

She was then scheduled to face close friend and former training partner Stamp Fairtex in a unification match for the undisputed ONE women's atomweight MMA world title.

However, the Thai megastar reaggravated her injured left knee in training camp.

Stamp ultimately agreed to relinquish her throne, and Zamboanga was promoted to undisputed world champion status.

Watch Zamboanga's entire interview below:

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Denice Zamboanga hopes to inspire more women to get into MMA

Denice Zamboanga wants to be a role model for the next generation of female fighters.

In the same interview with Carlo Perruzza, the Filipino superstar said she wants to see more women enter and succeed in combat sports.

She said:

"Yeah, I love to see women fighting, especially here in MMA, because a lot of people say, 'Oh, you're a girl, I don't want to see you get punched in the face, you're so pretty. Maybe it's too dangerous for you.' But the adrenaline going into the cage and fighting, it hits different."