MMA: Denice Zamboanga, target maipanalo ang laban sa January 10

Pagdidiskitahan ni Pinay mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga ang Ukrainian fighter na si Alyona Rassohyna para sa ONE Interim Atomweight MMA fight sa ONE Friday Fights 27, bukas, Biyernes, January 10 sa Lumpinee Stadium sa Bangkok, Thailand.

Desidido ang tubong Quezon City Pinay fighter na mailapit ang kanyang unang title shot para makakuha ng tsansa na makalaban si ONE Atomweight World champ Stamp Fairtex. 

Matatandaang nakatakda sanang labanan ni Zamboanga si Stamp noong Hunyo sa ONE 167, subalit napuwersang umatras ang Thai fighter matapos magkaroon ng torn meniscus, isang linggo bago ang laban nilang dalawa.

Buo naman ang tiwala ni Filipino MMA star Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang na maipapanalo ni Zamboanga ang kanyang laban kontra kay Rassohyna dahil sa mga ginawa nitong pagsasanay sa mga nakaraan at mahusay rin aniya ang boxing skills nito. 

"I wish her nothing but the best for this fight. She deserves this," Adiwang said. "I will say this is her fight to lose for sure. Her boxing is really sharp. She's got the sharper hands. She's also got power in those hands. "When it comes to the ground game, I think she can stop Alyona's takedowns. She's got the skills and the strength to do so. She's also bigger, and I feel like her size advantage will be crucial in this fight," ani Adiwang. 

Samantala, hindi naman gaanong humanga si Rassohyna sa husay at galing ni Zamboanga pagdating sa boxing skills nito kahit na nagpakita na ito ng mga improvement sa mga nagdaan nitong laban. 

"The work that I've seen from Denice in her last fights showed that the girls who boxed with her were worse in class and technically unprepared to fight her in stand-up. They didn't have the setups or feints to create entries. As I understand it, their game plan was focused on takedowns, but their stand-up preparation was weak, which gave Denice an advantage in the stand-up,"  ani Rassohyna. 

Tiwala rin si Rassohyna na mapapatumba nito si Zamboanga at wala itong plano na bigyang pagkakataon ang Pinay fighter na manalo sa kanilang laban. 

"I call myself a well-rounded fighter because I can work both in stand-up and grappling. That was confirmed in my last two fights with Stamp. I set a goal for myself long before I signed in this division that I would win the World Title, and my goals are materializing, so I'm happy with how much success I've had so far," dagdag pa ni Rassohyna.