After returning to winning ways at the recently concluded ONE on Prime Video 5, Filipina star Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga isn’t planning on slowing down. 

The 25-year-old battled her way to a tight split-decision win over “MMA Sister” Lin Heqin inside the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, this past Friday, December 2. 

She held her own in large portions of the match and repeatedly troubled the Chinese star with combinations and quick movement that ultimately pushed her to pick up a ninth career win.

With victory in the bag on this occasion, the #3-ranked atomweight contender wants to start plotting a route towards the #1-ranked contender – and on to “Unstoppable” Angela Lee’s ONE Atomweight World Title.

Denice Zamboanga picks a goal over a friend

In order to achieve that goal, however, she must face off against her close friend Stamp Fairtex, who currently sits at the top-ranked spot in the stacked division.

Though that may be a hard thing to face, Zamboanga knows her reasons are pure.

“It’s because I already fought most of the top five. She’s now ranked number one. I want to get back to my number one spot,” she explained.

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Many were surprised by her decision to call out the former two-sport ONE World Champion, given that they spent years honing their craft at the Fairtex Training Center in Pattaya, Thailand. 

Read more: “My Goal Is to Win All the Belts…” – Stamp Fairtex Shared Championship Aspirations Ahead of Bout With Angela Lee at One: X

However, due to their common mission – becoming an MMA World Champion – “The Menace” admits that she has been left with no other option.

‘The Menace’ makes a tough choice

“Yes, it’s very difficult to call out a friend, of course. With Stamp, I love her, but this is business. It’s all about business. It’s nothing personal,” the TREX MMA representative offered.

“Of course [we’ll go back to being friends after the fight]. We love each other, she knows it.”

Zamboanga may have to wait a while before scoring that fateful clash, as Stamp will have her hands busy in an atomweight mixed rules contest against Annisa “C18” Meksen at ONE on Prime Video 6 on January 13.

Read more: Former Muay Thai and Kickboxing Queen Stamp Fairtex ‘Grateful’ for Promotion to Purple Belt in Jiujitsu

However, once the Thai megastar has settled her rivalry with the multiple-time kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion, Zamboanga wouldn’t mind going toe-to-toe with her training partner and friend in order to take a step closer to atomweight gold.