ONE Fight Night 9 results: Denice Zamboanga vs Julie Mezabarba

Denice Zamboanga continued her rise in the stacked women’s atomweight division with a three-round beatdown of the gutsy Julie Mezabarba.

Showcasing her versatility, the Filipina fighter dominated every facet of the bout at ONE Fight Night 9 on Friday, April 21 inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Official result: Denice Zamboanga defeats Julie Mezabarba via unanimous decision (MMA – women’s atomweight)

‘The Menace’ lived up to her moniker as soon as the bell rang, looking menacing on the feet as she touched up Mezabarba with a stiff jab and right hook combo.

After tasting Zamboanga’s power early, Mezabarba changed levels and initiated the clinch.

The 26-year-old Filipina, however, proved she was dangerous everywhere by roughing the Brazilian up in close quarters with slicing elbows.

Zamboanga found a home for her missile of a right hand in round 2, landing it repeatedly in rapid succession.

Both fighters looked like rock-em sock-em robots for a while, trading wild hooks.

Mezabarba mounted some offense by securing a takedown, but her efforts were for naught as the TREX MMA pupil simply popped right back up.

Zamboanga was in an ultimate flow state in the final five minutes, displaying immaculate footwork to weave in and out of danger.

The desperate RD Champions standout tried a Hail Mary Guillotine choke attempt near the end of the round but did not get anywhere close to finishing it.

The third-ranked Zamboanga cruised to a dominant victory after a near-perfect performance, improving her record to 10-2. Five of those wins came inside the ONE circle.