Filipina fighter Denice Zamboanga. Handout/ONE Championship

MANILA -- Denice Zamboanga has seen one opportunity after another slip by in ONE Championship, mostly because of situations beyond her control.

This time around, however, Zamboanga's fate is finally in her own hands.

She battles Alyona Rassohyna for the ONE Interim Atomweight MMA World Title at ONE Fight Night 27 on January 11 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.  

READ: Denice Zamboanga gets new date for shot at interim world title

READ: Confident Rassohyna downplays Denice Zamboanga's boxing skills

A win not only makes her the interim queen of the division -- it puts her at the head of the line for ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion Stamp Fairtex when she returns to action.

"This is such an important fight for me. We've been working for this for a long time, and finally here we are. I'm excited," she said.  

The 28-year-old has been among the division's top contenders since 2020, but the global pandemic became her first major roadblock to compete for a ONE World Title.  

After that, former ONE Atomweight MMA World Champion Angela Lee took time away from the sport to focus on motherhood, so Zamboanga couldn't challenge Lee for her belt. Then a questionable decision loss to Ham Seo Hee derailed her momentum.  

Getting back in the front of the line with a couple of hard-earned wins, Zamboanga then saw her title aspirations pushed back once again. Stamp got injured while preparing for their fight.  

An injury to Zamboanga postponed the fight anew, just as she was preparing for her original bout with Rassohyna in October 2024.  

READ: Injured Zamboanga withdraws from interim title fight

"The Menace" believes that all these delays have only made her better, and she is eager to show how much she has improved. 

"I just brushed it off. All these struggles, the disappointments, the adversities. It's all part of the process. I didn't let those things get me down. It only made me better, and stronger," she said.  

"With everything I went through, I can say I'm more motivated than ever in winning this belt."