“She beat a lot of grapplers” – Denice Zamboanga raves at Stamp’s remarkable improvements in the grappling department

Even second-ranked ONE atomweight MMA contender Denice Zamboanga can’t help but be mesmerized by Stamp Fairtex’s evolution from a striker to a complete mixed martial artist.

After all, the three-sport world champion has shed some blood, sweat, and tears behind closed doors to shore up her grappling repertoire.

The results speak for themselves, as the Thai megastar took the mixed martial arts world by storm and now reigns supreme as the undisputed atomweight MMA queen.

Zamboanga, though, wants to make Stamp’s rule short-lived, as she tries to pry away her 26 pounds of gold at ONE 166: Qatar on March 1. This massive card marks the promotion’s debut in the Middle East, and will take place at the Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

It wasn’t too long ago that Zamboanga and Stamp honed their craft together as training partners at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand.

As such, ‘The Menace’ witnessed firsthand the champ’s hard work to ensure her ground game eventually caught up to her phenomenal striking skills.

In an interview with The MMA Superfan, Zamboanga praised her former teammate for besting some proven grapplers in their stacked division. She said:

“She fought and beat a lot of grapplers, from Alyona Rassohyna and Jihin Radzuan. I can see that she worked a lot on her takedown defense and her jiu-jitsu game. That’s been the main thing that she focused on over the years.”

Watch the full interview:

Denice Zamboanga says ‘it’s the perfect time’ to challenge Stamp

After paying her dues in the world’s largest martial arts organization, Zamboanga finally earned the world title shot she has been chasing for years.

The Filipina warrior, who holds a 5-2 slate under the ONE banner, exercised patience and continued improving her game until the call finally came.

The fact that she’ll be facing a former training partner and a good friend is simply icing on the cake.

Denice Zamboanga said in the same interview:

“I believe this is the perfect time for me to get this opportunity and become champion. I feel like ONE really prepared me for this moment and it’s finally here.”

ONE 166: Qatar will air live on March 1 via global pay-per-view on watch.onefc.com.