See Hee Ham was a picture of joy during the post-event press conference for ONE Championship: Empower, early Saturday morning.
It was a stark contrast from her opponent Denice Zamboanga who teared up after suffering a split decision loss that booted her out of the ONE Atomweight World Grand Prix.
For the 34-year-old South Korean, it was as clear as day that she deserved to have her hand raised after their 15-minute encounter held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Photo from ONEFC.com
“In any point of the fight, I never thought I was losing.
“If you know the ONE Championship rule, it’s different from the unified ruleset. She wasn’t moving and I believe I was winning. At any point in the fight, I never thought I was losing,” she emphasized.
Unlike the unified mixed martial arts rule set which is followed by promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ONE follows the global MMA ruleset which combines the best practices of Asian and western promotions.
One of the biggest differences between the two rule sets is that the unified rules judge each round with a 10-point must-win system. On the other hand, global rules judge a bout in its entirety.
Ham, who fought four bouts in the UFC from 2014-16 and went 1-3 there, said that Zamboanga, who has been in ONE since 2019 and had four fights there, should review the global ruleset before making any claims.
“In my opinion, Denice should go study the ONE Championship rule first.
“If she watches it, she would agree with the decision. I don’t know what to say,” she continued.
The former Rizin Fighting Federation Super Atomweight Champion also told the fans who view the bout as a robbery to do the same as well.
Moreover, Ham believes that the aesthetics also tell the story of the bout as Ham’s face had little damage while Zamboanga had a hematoma and a bandage on her forehead — one resulting in a second round exchange while the other coming from an accidental head clash in the final round.
Photo from ONEFC.com
“I really don’t understand why this is causing some controversy. Our faces speak the result.
“If the fans study more about ONE Championship, they might feel the same way as me,” she continued.
To close her case, Ham also looked back on the moments after Zamboanga was cleared by the ringside physicians to continue on with 2:21 left in the bout.
After Zamboanga was cleaned up, she bumrushed Ham that led to a shoot takedown. For Ham, it was a clear sign of desperation.
“If she believes she won, why did she run towards me? That action showed that the decision was right.”
Despite Zamboanga’s qualms regarding the result, Ham said that she still has her respect.
Photo from ONEFC.com
“I still feel the same way. Before or after the fight, respect was always there. She’s the number one contender and a great athlete,” said Ham, who went up to 24-8 in her career and will face either Thailand’s Stamp (6-1), Japan’s Itsuki Hirata (5-0) and India’s Ritu Phogat (6-1) in the next round.
“The respect is still the same.”
