Newly-crowned ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight MMA Champion Denice Zamboanga also wins in relationships with a husband that has the same passion and love for her sport.
“You can’t have everything,” that’s how the trite life saying goes.
But for recently-crowned ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight MMA Champion Denice Zamboanga, that might not be true — at least, when it comes to her life as an athlete and in her relationships.
After reaching the pinnacle of the sport with her history-making title win last month, Zamboanga also has other things to be thankful for, including a gem hidden in her personal life: her fellow ONE athlete and husband Fritz Biagtan.
Fresh from making history as the first-ever Filipina MMA champion in the Singapore-based promotion, the 27-year-old shared her thoughts on being together with someone who understands every fibre of her, especially her love for mixed martial arts.
“Sobrang bihira na makahanap ng partner na pareho kayo ng gusto, and maganda kasi dun namin nalalabas yung kapag naga-away kami, dun kami mags-sparing,” Zamboanga joked.
“Masaya na hindi lang kami magkatugma sa ibang bagay, kundi dito rin sa martial arts eh lagi kaming magkasama.”
Biagtan is actually Zamboanga’s coach as well, along with her older brother Drex in TREX MMA.
But his impact is bigger than that for Zamboanga. That is, Biagtan also helps her grow outside of the sport, which pushes the Quezon City-native to be a better person.
“Si Fritz, di lang siya as my coach, sobrang supportive niya when it comes to my mental health and physical health. Talagang sinu-support niya ako. Binuild niya yung character ko, hindi lang as MMA fighter, but also as a human being na normal na tao,” she said.
“Tinulungan niya ako na maging mas humble palagi na kahit anong pagsubok wag basta basta susuko,” she added.
Perhaps most importantly, though, Biagtan accepted Zamboanga for who she is. After experiencing relationships where people tried to change her, it was a good change of scenery, and now that she’s known Biagtan, she feels like it’s something she’ll want for life.
“Sobrang iba. Kasi may mga ex ako before na parang, ayaw nilang na parang sobrang masculine ko. Parang gusto nila is, maputi ako, parang typical girls. Pero si Fritz, tanggap niya kung ano yung ginagawa ko and parang mas gusto niya na [kapag] malakas siya, malakas din ako,” she said.
As far as Valentine’s Day plans are concerned, it seems like Zamboanga and Biagtan will have to wait.
Biagtan is getting ready for an upcoming fight, and understanding their commitment to their sport, Zamboanga said she’s more than willing to wait for the right time before celebrating their relationship.
“Siguro ten rounds of sparring [ang plano namin sa Valentine’s]. Hopefully, makapag-dinner out kami pero kasi meron siyang upcoming fight na pinaghahandaan kaya siguro after fight nalang siguro magc-celebrate,” said Zamboanga.
“Fight muna bago date,” she quipped.