{"id":754273,"date":"2026-06-23T04:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/754273\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T04:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T04:10:12","slug":"denice-zamboanga-vacates-one-womens-atomweight-mma-world-championship-to-embrace-motherhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/754273\/","title":{"rendered":"Denice Zamboanga Vacates ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Championship To Embrace Motherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denice \u201cThe Menace\u201d Zamboanga<\/a>\u2018s reign as ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Champion has come to an end. The Filipino superstar announced that she is relinquishing the 26 pounds of gold after welcoming a baby with her husband Fritz \u201cKid Tornado\u201d Biagtan<\/a>. <\/p>\n

In a heartfelt post on her social media accounts, Zamboanga revealed her decision to step away from competition to embrace motherhood, unwilling to hold up a weight class she worked so hard to reach the top of.<\/p>\n

She wrote:<\/p>\n

\u201cGod has always had a beautiful plan for my life, and I trust His timing in everything. After much prayer and reflection, I have made the difficult decision to vacate my ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight World Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not an easy choice, but I believe it is the right one for this season of my life and for the athletes in my division who continue to chase their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the Filipina, this is not a farewell but a pause, with her focus firmly on the most rewarding journey of her life.<\/p>\n

Zamboanga plans to return to MMA competition at some point in the future. But for now, she is placing her full attention on raising her child.<\/p>\n

She added:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I am stepping away from the title, I am not stepping away from the sport I love. Fighting has shaped who I am, and the warrior in me will always remain.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, my heart and focus are devoted to the greatest blessing God has entrusted to me. This season is teaching me that there are victories beyond championship belts, and I am embracing every moment of it with gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zamboanga Etched Her Name In Philippine Martial Arts History<\/p>\n

The moment Denice Zamboanga first wore ONE Championship gold, she broke new ground as her nation\u2019s first-ever female MMA World Champion and secured her place in Philippine martial arts history.<\/p>\n

Zamboanga joined the proud lineage of Filipino warriors on ONE\u2019s global stage in 2019 and wasted no time. She defeated Jihin \u201cShadow Cat\u201d Radzuan<\/a> in her promotional debut, outclassed Mei \u201cV.V\u201d Yamaguchi<\/a> by decision, and then submitted Watsapinya \u201cDream Girl\u201d Kaewkhong<\/a> in 88 seconds. Three straight victories announced her as a genuine force in the women\u2019s atomweight division.<\/p>\n

The road to the gold, however, was far from straightforward. Zamboanga suffered back-to-back defeats to South Korea\u2019s Ham Seo Hee<\/a> at ONE: Empower<\/a> in 2021 and ONE X<\/a> in 2022. Rather than fold, she went back to the drawing board. She sharpened her striking, tightened her ground game, and returned as a more complete MMA fighter.<\/p>\n

The results spoke for themselves. Zamboanga reeled off three consecutive wins over \u201cMMA Sister\u201d Lin Heqin<\/a>, Julie Mezabarba<\/a>, and Noelle \u201cLil\u2019 Monkey\u201d Grandjean<\/a>, each performance more assured than the last. That run earned her a shot at the coveted ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Title.<\/p>\n

But with divisional queen and former teammate Stamp Fairtex<\/a> recovering from a torn meniscus, \u201cThe Menace\u201d instead vied for the ONE Interim Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Championship against Ukraine\u2019s Alyona Rassohyna<\/a> at ONE Fight Night 27<\/a> in January 2025.<\/p>\n

A testy opening round gave way to a dominant second, where Zamboanga\u2019s relentless barrage of elbows and hammerfists sealed the finish. The victory earned her the interim belt, a US$50,000 performance bonus, and her place in the record books as the first Filipina to win an MMA World Title. Four months later, Stamp faced a setback in her recovery and relinquished the gold<\/a>, elevating \u201cThe Menace\u201d to undisputed ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Champion.<\/p>\n

The Filipina was slated to make her first World Title defense against Japan\u2019s Ayaka \u201cZombie\u201d Miura<\/a> at ONE 173<\/a> in Tokyo last November, but she withdrew from the contest due to medical reasons. The relinquishment of her belt has since shed light on why.<\/p>\n

For now, she steps away from the atomweight throne to embrace an even greater title, having brought new life into the world. When the time is right, martial arts glory will be waiting once again.<\/p>\n

What remains unchanged is the history she made for the Philippines, built across a 12-2 professional career with seven wins inside the world\u2019s largest martial arts organization.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned to onefc.com for more news about the ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Denice \u201cThe Menace\u201d Zamboanga\u2018s reign as ONE Women\u2019s Atomweight MMA World Champion has come to an end. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-754273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}