Zamboanga crowned undisputed ONE champ after Stamp withdraws from unification

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MANILA, Philippines -- Denice Zamboanga is now the undisputed ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA world champion. But it did not come after a victory.

An injury to current champion Stamp Fairtex forced her to withdraw from the unification bout against Zamboanga at ONE 173: Denver.

This then resulted in Stamp relinquishing her title to Zamboanga, the interim champion.

According to ONE, Stamp had an injury setback while rehabbing her surgically repaired knee.

ONE Championship CEO and chairman Chatri Sityodtong, for his part, said he is saddened by the injury to Stamp.

“[We] wish her nothing but the best in her road to recovery,” Sityodtong said.

With the Stamp-Zamboanga bout now called off, as well as “multiple” World championship headliners not materializing, the Denver event will now be moved to June 26 next year from the original August 1 date.

“After looking at multiple alternate headlining options that unfortunately did not come together, we have made the difficult decision to move our Denver event to June 26. When bringing the world’s largest martial arts organization to the U.S., we strive to deliver the very best product to our passionate American fan base and put on the most entertaining and memorable show possible,” Sityodtong said.

“The US remains a high-priority market for ONE and our global business, and we remain committed to maintaining a strong presence in the region with monthly ONE Fight Night events in US primetime and future on-ground events,” he added.

Zamboanga defeated Alyona Rassohyna via technical knockout to grab the interim title in January.

And in February, the Filipina was booked to fight Stamp in the unification matchup.

Last year, the two were already set to fight for the championship, but Stamp tore her meniscus.