Drex Zamboanga is the latest in a long line of URCC champions to sign up for ONE Championship. He follows in the footsteps of Rey Docyogen, Kevin Belingon, Eric Kelly, Honorio Banario and Eduard Folayang.
However few fighters have made the transition from the URCC to ONE Championship quote as seamlessly as his sister, Denice Zamboanga, who is undefeated and on the cusp of a strawweight title shot.
This Friday at ONE: ‘A New Breed’ he will be fighting on the same card as his sister,
“The first time is when we fought at an amateur mixed martial arts event in Manila but that was six years ago,” he recalls.
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Biggest fight
The opportunity came about because both siblings are based at Fairtex in Pattaya. The flyweight faces prospect Detchadin Sornsirisuphathin and feels this is the biggest fight of his career,
“It’s my first exposure on the big stage and the number one promotion here in Asia. I feel excited because this is my mixed martial arts debut in ONE Championship and it feels great to be part of the largest martial arts organization in the world,” he said.
The 27 year-old hopes to become the fourth URCC champion to win a title with ONE,
“My aspiration here in ONE is to become a flyweight champion and to be an inspiration and to the people who want to become a professional mixed martial arts fighter like me.”
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Winning start
Zamboanga is determined to get his ONE Championship career off to a winning start. He has made some real sacrifices to stay in Thailand during the Covid-19 crisis,
“It is very important to me because I’ve put in a lot of time and sacrificed a lot. We risk not seeing our family just to be here in Thailand and focus only on training,” he said.
Zamboanga and his opponent both have identical records. The Filipino feels it is the perfect opportunity to showcase his talent and announce himself on the global stage,
“This Friday, I want to make sure I give 100% just to show to the people around the world my talents in mixed martial arts. It will be a great and amazing fight that night.”
