Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga and Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado may be representing two different mixed martial arts stables these days, but the Filipina phenom’s affinity towards her former teammate hasn’t waned even a single bit.
In fact, she has thrown her support behind Miado, who will be squaring off with debuting Russian Mansur Malachiev in a three-round strawweight encounter at ONE Fight Night 11 on Saturday, June 10.
The 26-year-old heroine is a witness to Miado’s transformation from a struggling competitor on the ONE Championship stage to a rising contender in a division loaded with talent.
Miado, who totes a professional record of 12-4 with seven knockouts and one submission, has been on a winning roll since 2019.
During that stretch, he scored back-to-back knockouts at Miao Li Tao’s expense and picked up a stoppage victory over Lito Adiwang.
In his most recent assignment, “The Jaguar” authored a sensational third-round knockout of No. 5-ranked strawweight contender “Mini T” Danial Williams at ONE Fight Night 3 in an October 2022 catchweight showdown.
“Hard work really does pay off because you see it in how he fights nowadays and how better he is in all aspects of the fight game. That’s exactly what brought him into the rankings [back then] in the first place,” said Zamboanga, who trained with Miado under the same roof at Marrok Force in Bangkok, Thailand along with her older brother Drex “T-Rex” Zamboanga and her fiancé Fritz “Kid Tornado” Biagtan.
This weekend, Miado finds himself in a must-win situation as a decisive performance will guarantee him a seat in the Top Five, increasing his chances of earning a shot at Jarred Brooks’ ONE Strawweight World Championship.
Zamboanga believes if there’s anyone on the current strawweight roster who deserves to get a date with Brook, it’s the hard-hitting Albay native.
“Jeremy has been knocking out his opponents left and right. I honestly think he deserves to get the title shot and face the champion if he wins his next fight,” she stated.
However, Miado faces a tall order at ONE Fight Night 11. His Russian opponent holds a pristine slate of 10-0 with five victories by submission and three via knockout.
In addition, Malachiev hasn’t gone the distance since 2019, finishing his last five outings within three rounds.
Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Zamboanga is confident that Miado will once again rise to the occasion and add an exciting finish to the fight card’s highlight reel.
“Knockout, that’s my prediction for this fight,” she declared.
Fight Game Asia 