Denice Zamboanga says Joshua Pacio’s departure from Team Lakay was ‘a good decision’

Filipina mixed martial arts sensation ‘The Menace’ Denice Zamboanga is back in action tomorrow night, and she’s coming into the Circle with a vengeance.

Zamboanga has a very important matchup ahead of her, but also took the time out to address some big news coming out of her native Philippines.

The Philippine martial arts landscape was rocked after former ONE world champions Eduard Folayang and Joshua Pacio, and more of their teammates announced that they were leaving Team Lakay.

Naturally, this news came as a shocker to Zamboanga, but the 26-year-old from Quezon City says she understands why the decision was made. In a recent interview with South China Morning Post, Zamboanga talked about the Team Lakay exodus and shared her thoughts on the matter.

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‘The Menace’ said:

“I understand their decision. I know that they have been loyal to Team Lakay for a long time. I know that Lakay is a very good gym. They’re popular, they’re very strong, and I know that all the fighters there are tough. But I understand why Joshua and the other fighters made that decision for themselves because I also felt that before as well. I think that’s a good decision.”

Watch the interview below:

Zamboanga is currently in Bangkok, Thailand right now, getting ready for one of the most important fights of her career.

‘The Menace’ Denice Zamboanga is set to face highly regarded atomweight Julie Mezabarba of Brazil at ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs Haggerty on Prime Video. The event will be broadcast live from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and will stream for free to fans in the United States and Canada via Amazon Prime.

If Zamboanga can defeat Mezabarba, it will send a message to the rest of the division that she’s ready to make another run at the top.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for live updates on ONE Fight Night 9: Nong-O vs Haggerty on Prime Video.

About the author

Dan is an MMA writer with 10+ years of overall experience. Before his ongoing tenure at Sportskeeda, Dan got the opportunity to be at the forefront of the sport by contributing to ONE Championship and Fight Game Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology.

Dan’s connection to MMA started during the early days of the UFC and ONE Championship. He previously practiced boxing and ranks Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Fedor Emelianenko as the top five MMA fighters of all time.

He has covered several events onsite and on the ground for ONE Championship and hopes to continue doing so. He ensures that he churns out accurate articles by citing only legitimate sources and getting firsthand accounts through exclusive interviews whenever required.

Dan feels MMA fighter pay seems like an issue because it often gets compared to what fighters earn in boxing but that MMA will eventually catch up in the future.

His other interests include soccer and video games.

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Edited by C. Naik