Unlike past bouts where a different winner was
declared, One Championship decided against stripping a
victory from Seo Hee
Ham.
Ultimate Fighting Championship and Rizin Fighting Federation vet Ham (24-8, 1-0
One) clashed with Denice
Zamboanga (8-1, 3-1 One) at One:
Empower for a spot in the One atomweight grand prix semifinals.
’The Menace’ appeared to be in control of the fight, but Ham won
the contest via decision. After the controversial victory, One
Championship founder and CEO Chatri Sityodtong announced
that the promotion would review the outcome.
After review, the competition committee voted against changing the
result, according to an interview conducted by
South China Morning Post with the One chairman.
“It’s just one of these things,” the One head stated. “When I look
at it objectively, I still believe Denice won, but I respect and
can see how the judges scored it for Ham. It went to the committee,
and I was obviously wrong relative to the committee.
“I do feel Denice was owed at least a fair due process instead of
just leaving it hanging there, but at the same time, I think both
Ham and Denice can be very proud of their performances.”
The “competition committee,” which is made up of 14 members whose
identities are not disclosed, voted to review the fight. The
committee holds the authority to not just overturn a result to a no
contest, but award the victory to the other competitor. The panel
consists of One officials, as well as “experts, former athletes and
judges.” Ultimately, nine members voted in favor of “Hamderlei
Silva,” who now formally moves on in the tournament. Ham will join
Nong
Stamp, Ritu Phogat
and Itsuki
Hirata in the semifinals. Fan voting will determine the
upcoming pairings.
Zamboanga is now slated to face Julie
Mezabarba (9-2-1, 1-0 One) in an alternate tournament bout on
an unannounced One event. The 28-year-old Brazilian Mezabarba has
already competed an alternate contest, where she captured a
decision over former title challenger Mei
Yamaguchi.