MANILA, Philippines – Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga proved that she’s ready to challenge for the ONE Atomweight MMA World Title after a breezy unanimous decision win over Noelle “Lil’ Monkey” Grandjean in the ONE 167: Tawanchai vs Nattawut II on Saturday, June 8, at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Showing how hard she was truly preparing for what was supposed to be a World Title showdown with reigning divisional queen Stamp Fairtex, the second-ranked atomweight displayed her ever improving striking and top-notch conditioning against Grandjean.
Zamboanga picked the Thai-French judoka apart on the feet, landing heavy strikes with her boxing, leaving Grandjean with a swollen right eye early in the match.
The only time the grappler in Grandjean had a chance to take the fight to the ground was when she landed a throw late in the first round, only for the Filipina to reverse it seconds later and take her back and attempt a rear-naked choke.
Though she didn’t get the choke from that position, Zamboanga continued to dominate the ensuing rounds as she was quick with her combinations and even quicker when moving out of harm’s way.
After 15 minutes of action, Zamboanga looked like she could still go three more rounds and the decision was pretty much a no-brainer.
All three judges gave the nod to the 26-year-old pride of Quezon City, who improved to 11-2 for her career.
Now “The Menace” will have to patiently wait for her good friend in Stamp to heal up after the Thai superstar tore her meniscus more than three weeks ago in preparation for their scratched main event tussle.
In the main event, ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK. Saenchai once again escaped the upset-conscious “Smokin” Jo Nattawut, beating his compatriot via majority decision in their action packed rematch in the card’s headliner.
ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon had a successful return in kickboxing as he bested a determined Denis “The Bosnian Menace” Puric via unanimous decision in their 141.25lb catchweight bout co-main event. – Rappler.com
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