MANILA – Upstart Filipina mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters Denice Zamboanga and veteran Honorio Banario cruised to victories in the ONE: King of the Jungle at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb. 28.
The 23-year-old Zamboanga had an impressive showing as she defeated former atomweight division contender Mei Yamaguchi of Japan by way of unanimous decision.
Zamboanga showed her dominance against the 37-year-old Yamaguchi, particularly in the final round, as she landed huge shots on the Japanese.
With the victory, Zamboanga improved her unblemished record to 7-0, while Yamaguchi saw her card drop to 21-12-1.
On the other hand, Banario pulled of a split decision victory over Shannon Wiratchai in his return to the featherweight division.
Both Banario and Wiratchai had their bright spots in the first two rounds before the Filipino MMA veteran leaned on to his grappling game in the third round to stop his opponent.
Banario was able to halt his three-game losing skid to improve to a 15-10 record, while Wiratchai saw his slate slide down to 9-6.
Fil-Kiwi Mark Abelardo, could not
complete a victory for the Filipino bets as he suffered a unanimous decision
defeat at the hands of Tony Worthen.
He saw his record go down to 19-7, while Worthen is yet to be defeated in seven
games./PN
