I DON’T think Denice Zamboanga meant to deliberately disparage or belittle Angela Lee, the sitting atomweight champion in the women’s division of ONE Championship when she asked that “Da Who” question at the One: Empower Virtual Faceoffs Media Day last Tuesday.
Media always have a field day asking Denice questions about Angela Lee and vice versa. The answers are almost always candid, off the cuff and spicy.
The sitting atomweight champ and the No. 1 challenger have been having a running verbal tussle ever since the feisty Filipina commented on what Lee should do with her belt since pregnancy and motherhood have prevented her from defending her crown.
“Angela…should do the right thing like all great champions [do]. She should give the respect other fighters deserve [and] should not resist vacating the Championship belt since she cannot defend it,” Zamboanga posted on instagram late last year.
The response was immediate from Angela Lee who pooh-poohed the Pinay’s claims at being the No. 1 contender with a saucy tweet: “Sorry girl, but you didn’t do anything to deserve my belt. No one took it from me, so why would I give it up?”
Since then, the fight in the Circle that MMA fans long to see has already been playing out on a grand scale in mainstream and social media.
The latest episode was when the reigning champ very subtly threw shade at her main challenger. Commenting on the matchup between “The Lycan Queen” and South Korea’s Seo Hee Ham in the much-awaited One: Empower all-female MMA event, Lee said she was very excited to see Seo Hee Ham ’s One debut and curious about how she will match up with Denice. “I would give the advantage to Seo Hee Ham because of her experience,” Lee minced no words. “But…at the end of the day, it is a fight. You don’t count anybody out,” she recapitulated.
For her part, Denice Zamboanga refused to be drawn into another back and forth. Not while she is training for her biggest challenge, at least. In a media chat last week where she was again reminded of Lee’s subtle dig at her prowess vis-à-vis the veteran Seo Hee, Zamboanga said she’d rather concentrate on her training and her upcoming foe.
This she said though: “I’m not focused on what she feels. I’m focused on my opponent. I’m not thinking of Angela Lee. But what she said about me losing and not making it past the first round of the Grand Prix is my motivation. I’ll prove to her that she’s wrong.”
Media at the Faceoff fed off the rivalry, as expected. To make matters even more interesting, even Mei Yamaguchi, the 38-year-old MMA veteran whom Zamboanga says she has a lot of respect for, chose Seo Hee Ham to have the edge over the MMA athlete formerly known as “The Menace.”
Thus, when reminded of Angela Lee’s prediction that Seo Hee Ham was her choice to win the fight dubbed as the “co-main event that feels like the main event” in the upcoming Grand Prix, Zamboanga said “Angela who?”
Maybe she really did not hear the writer’s comments correctly. Maybe subconsciously, she’s throwing shade too at her most vocal “detractor,” who knows? But Zamboanga came out swinging in her typical no holds barred style.
“For me it doesn’t matter because she’s not in the card. So I think she just needs to chill and relax and see what happens. That’s it.”
Doesn’t it feel strange for her, really the No. 1 ranked contender against Angela Lee, to be perceived as the underdog in her fight against Seo Hee Ham
“It’s really good for me. It works to my advantage because it keeps me motivated when a lot of people underestimate me. So I’ll just do my work and prove them wrong. I have always been the underdog who wins her fights,” said Zamboanga, who is known for her warrior’s heart and fighting spirit.
Since her impressive and steady rise in the ranks, Zamboanga has always been laser-focused on the atomweight belt. “I’ve been waiting to fight [Angela] since last year,” she admitted. But now, instead of a straight-out challenge based on her position in the challenger ladder, she has to go through the crucible of the Grand Prix.
“A lot of fans are waiting for me and Angela to fight. I think fans would love to see that. But I think [going through] the Grand Prix is also great for me and the other atomweight fighters to prove who really is the next in line for the title shot.”
But not everyone thinks Denice Zamboanga is the underdog. Lady Lakay Jenelyn Olsim—who triumphed over Bi “Killer Bi” Nguyen just last week—and Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao are throwing their hats in favor of their compatriot.
“I want to express my support to our kababayan Denice in her upcoming bout. I wish her good luck and more power,” Olsim, who should have also fought in the Grand Prix against Grace Cleveland of the US, said. Cleveland recently bowed out of Empower due to injury, leaving Olsim without a foe for September 3.
“Denice and Seo Hee Ham are both driven to win the Grand Prix, but I have to side with Denice. I believe that Denice has really prepared so much for this match and I can see that she will do everything just to win this match and the Grand Prix. So as fellow Filipinos, we’re here to support her and looking forward to her next matches,” Sangiao said.
Now both Denice and Seo Hee Ham , 10 years her senior, gear up for their consequential showdown on Friday night. Denice flies under the radar, behaving like a Navy Seal out on a secret mission cloaked by the darkness of night. When she makes her move, she’ll use her ammo and accomplish the mission.
The proof of this pudding is in the fighting.