Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 26) – Filipina atomweight standout Denice Zamboanga failed to have a promising performance in her unanimous decision defeat to South Korean rival Ham Seo Hee in their rematch in ONE: X on Saturday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Zamboanga had a hard time in responding to the more superior grappling skills of Ham that led the Filipina fighter to being taken down several times in the contest.
Tensions between the two fighters have been evident at the start of the match with each giving a serious staredown before the opening bell.
The energy of the fight, however, was derailed in the early moments of the first round when Zamboanga and Ham got involved in a head collision that left the South Korean warrior limping in pain.
After Ham recovered from her head blow, she began to assert her ground mastery by attacking Zamboanga’s knees first, before taking the Filipina down in the canvas.
The South Korean fighter cruised to the next two rounds with her dominant strikes and suffocating ground game as she aimed for a possible submission win, a rebound from her controversial split decision against the Filipina in their first fight in the ONE Women’s Atomweight Grand Prix quarterfinals.
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The Marrok Force standout held her fort against a very determined Ham by switching her positions, but Zamboanga had no answer to the aggressiveness posed by her opponent.
Zamboanga suffered her second straight loss for an 8-2 record while Ham improved to 25-8.
