“They really want to see me” - Denice Zamboanga hopes to defend her world title in front of her hometown fans in Manila

If Denice Zamboanga gets her wish granted, she'd want nothing more than to defend her throne in her homeland.

The Filipino superstar was elevated from interim to undisputed ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion after the throne's former holder, Stamp Fairtex, agreed to vacate her spot due to injury.

In an interview with Nick Atkin, Zamboanga revealed that her fans have begun asking her if she would have her first defense of the gold in the Philippines.

Denice Zamboanga said:

"I hate requesting because I don't think I have that position to request, but hopefully ONE Championship sees this video and then they make an event in the Philippines. Because a lot of Filipinos are asking, 'When is the event in Manila going to happen?"

She added:

"They are literally asking me every time they see me, "When is ONE Championship going to come back here in Manila?" Because they really want to see me fight here."

The Philippines has always been one of the most successful nations in ONE Championship history, with eight fighters of Filipino descent claiming a world title in the promotion.

Brandon Vera, Eduard Folayang, Honorio Banario, Kevin Belingon, Geje Eustaquio, and Joshua Pacio were the Philippines' male MMA world champions, while Zamboanga was the lone female MMA world champion.

Jackie Buntan, meanwhile, is the lone non-MMA world champion of Filipino descent and holds the ONE women's strawweight kickboxing world title.

Watch Zamboanga's entire interview below:

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Denice Zamboanga says she has a massive target after being named undisputed world champion

Denice Zamboanga quickly went from being the hunter to the hunted.

'The Menace' knows the reality of holding the throne in her division, and she acknowledged the fact that a throng of would-be challengers are waiting at the right opportunity to challenge her rule.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Zamboanga said:

"I feel like I have to train more. I have to do more since there’s now a target on my back. At the same time, I also stop myself because I don’t want to overtrain and get injured again like in the past."

ONE Championship has yet to announce who Zamboanga will face in her first world title defense.