Denice Zamboanga vacates ONE women’s atomweight title to embrace motherhood

Denice Zamboanga’s run atop ONE Championship’s women’s atomweight division is ending as she steps away from active reign, vacating the world championship and indicating a new priority as she embraces motherhood. In an announcement reported by Yahoo Sports, the Filipino standout said she is relinquishing the “26 pounds of gold” after welcoming a baby with her husband, Fritz “Kid Tornado” Biagtan.

Zamboanga, widely known by the nickname “The Menace,” has been one of the defining figures in ONE’s atomweight conversation, combining forward pressure with scrappy, opportunistic finishing moments that helped her become synonymous with the division’s biggest stage. Her decision to vacate does not come from a competition setback in the traditional sense, it is a personal choice tied directly to her new family life.

Vacating a belt is more than a formality. It redraws the championship landscape, compressing the calendar and forcing ONE to determine who will be first in line for the next title opportunity. With Zamboanga stepping aside, the division’s top contenders lose the certainty of a reigning champion target, and instead move toward a more open, tournament-like urgency where momentum can matter as much as who has already been booked near the title picture.

For Zamboanga, the announcement also reframes her public timeline. The champion says she welcomed a baby with Biagtan, which helps explain why the next steps in her career are not framed around defending or scheduling another title fight immediately. In combat sports, family decisions can change training access, travel frequency, and long-term planning, and Zamboanga’s statement places those realities at the center of this transition.

The timing matters for ONE as well. Women’s atomweight has been one of the promotion’s most watched divisions, and the sport’s ecosystems tend to reward clarity. A vacant title usually means contenders will lobby for the most direct path back to the championship, while matchmakers balance rankings, recent performances, stylistic matchups, and fan recognition to build a credible claim to the crown.

What happens next is the obvious story line. ONE will have to designate a successor, whether through an elimination bout, a short series of high-leverage matchups, or another format that keeps the division’s momentum intact. For Zamboanga’s part, the focus now shifts from championship belt defenses to her return window, as she manages the transition from champion to mother and determines when she can safely and effectively resume training at a world-title level.