5 Things You Might Not Know About Drex Zamboanga

Drex Zamboanga’s transition to One Championship has gone swimmingly thus far. Whether or not he can elbow his way into the promotion’s future plans remains to be seen.

The 33-year-old Filipino standout owns a perfect 2-0 record in the Chatri Sityodtong-fronted company and appears to be pointed in the right direction. Zamboanga dazzled in his most recent appearance, as he buried Rahul K. Raju with punches just 65 seconds into their encounter at One Championship “Full Circle” on Feb. 25. He has now delivered nine of his 10 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, four of them inside one round.

As Zamboanga awaits word on his next assignment from One Championship matchmakers, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Distance does not dissuade him.

Zamboanga operates out of the Marrok Force MMA Club in Bangkok, Thailand, nearly 1,400 miles to the west of his hometown in the Philippines. He holds the rank of black belt in karate and has trained in the past with Tough Guys International and the Fairtex Gym.

2. He stumbled out of the gate.

“T-Rex” lost his professional debut on Sept. 27, 2013, when he submitted to a first-round heel hook from Hideo Morikawa. Zamboanga responded by winning six of his next seven bouts and establishing himself as a person of interest on the regional scene in Asia.

3. He knows what gold weighs.

Zamboanga captured the Universal Reality Combat Championship bantamweight title at URCC 77 “Raw Fury,” where he prompted a doctor stoppage against Seung Hyun Choi after the third round of their April 2019 encounter. He made his first appearance in One Championship a little more than a year later and has yet to look back.

4. Fighting has a familial flavor for him.

The Shooto veteran’s younger sister, Denice Zamboanga, also competes in One Championship. She has compiled a 3-2 record in the organization, and while back-to-back losses to Seo Hee Ham have cooled some of the hype around her, she still finds herself with a No. 3 ranking in the women’s atomweight division.

5. He keeps his bags packed.

Zamboanga has already competed in five different countries as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 8-2 in his native Philippines, 0-2 in Japan, 1-0 in Thailand, 1-0 in Singapore and 0-1 in South Korea.