Seo Hee Ham Aiming For ‘One-Shot Knockout’ Against Denice Zamboanga
Mixed martial arts veteran “Arale Chan” Seo Hee Ham is hoping to show a young rising star what it takes to reach the top.
The 34-year-old will take on 24-year-old Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarterfinals this Friday, 3 September, at the historic ONE: EMPOWER.
In the process, she will attempt to overcome the #1-ranked atomweight contender and make a run at the tournament prize – a showdown with reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.
Ham knows she’ll be in for quite a challenge in her ONE Championship debut — but it’s one she welcomes.
“I didn’t want to be up against a weak opponent. So, when I heard the opponent was Denice, I was glad that I was up against a strong opponent that I could have an awesome match with,” she said.
The South Korean has been studying Zamboanga leading up to this match, and she thinks she’s figured out what makes the Filipina such a force in the atomweight division.
“She seems to like cage wrestling, so I trained largely on defending against that, as well as boxing,” Ham said.
“She’s very strong, for sure. She likes to give her opponent a hard time while wrestling and likes to go to the ground to press them down.
“Also, seeing how Denice hits her opponents, she doesn’t use a KO punch but makes sure she’s not in the line of the opponent’s range to be hit. I studied a lot of things like this. Overall, I need to be careful.”
Despite knowing just how dangerous Zamboanga’s strong wrestling pedigree is, Ham isn’t too worried about getting worked over on the ground. It’s been more than 10 years since she lost a fight via submission, and she doesn’t plan on letting that happen this Friday.
“In preparation for this match, I have anticipated her takedown tactics and prepared a lot for them, so I don’t think I will be an easy target to take down,” Ham said.
“I have never been taken down and received a pounding to end the match before, so I doubt that it will happen this time.
“Regardless of who my opponent is in any match, I never give up. My style of doing whatever I need to do is considered my strength.”
Ultimately, Ham believes she won’t only stuff “Lycan Queen’s” attempt to further her status in ONE Championship – she also plans on ending the Filipina’s undefeated run and sending a clear warning to the other six women in the Grand Prix.
“After the bell goes off for the first round, I will take my stance a distance from her, then assess my opponent and study her movement,” Ham said.
“Then I will move in for a one-shot knockout. This is what I’ve thought about constantly and imagined as I prepared for the tournament.”
Catch all the action from ONE: EMPOWER live and for free by downloading the ONE Super App or tuning in to meWATCH at 8:30 p.m. SGT on Friday, 3 September.
Read More From ONE Championship:
Hirata Believes Youthfulness Will Lead Her To Grand Prix Title
Top-Ranked Zamboanga Ready For Showdown With Ham In Atomweight GP
Back In Grand Prix, Phogat Wants To Make Statement Against Meng Bo
