“The friendship never stopped” – Denice Zamboanga says ex-teammate and ONE 166 opponent Stamp Fairtex still a close friend

Though they may no longer train at the same gym, Denice Zamboanga has maintained a strong relationship with reigning ONE atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex.

After scoring back-to-back wins over Lin Heqin and Julie Mezabara, ‘The Menace’ will step into the Circle for her first ONE world title opportunity when ONE Championship’s makes its long-awaited debut in Qatar for ONE 166 on March 1.

In one of the five incredible world title fights that will go down inside Lusail Sports Arena, new atomweight queen Stamp will put her gold on the line for the first time against a good friend and former training partner.

Zamboanga had this to say about her relationship with Stamp in an interview with spin.ph:

“We still keep in touch right now. We always talk on social media. The friendship never stopped even after I left Fairtex.”

Stamp scored the atomweight title with a brutal third-round body shot knockout of Ham Seo Hee at ONE Fight Night 14. She has won her last four bouts inside the Circle, three coming in MMA and another in kickboxing.

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Denice Zamboanga will finally receive her long-awaited title opportunity

Denice Zamboanga has had an undeniably impressive run in ONE since making her promotional debut in 2019, earning wins over the likes of Jihin Radzuan, Mei Yamaguchi, and Watsapinya Kaewkhong.

However, ‘The Menace’ was denied what appeared to be an inevitable title opportunity after suffering back-to-back losses against Ham Seo Hee between September 2021 and March 2022.

Now riding the momentum of two straight victories, the No.2-ranked atomweight is primed to make Stamp Fairtex’s latest title run a short one.

Who do you see coming out on top when Denice Zamboanga meets one of the promotion’s most exciting and dominant forces in Stamp Fairtex later this year?

ONE 166: Qatar airs live on Friday, March 1, via global pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.