{"id":98030,"date":"2025-08-26T21:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/98030\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T21:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T21:07:07","slug":"looking-back-on-amazing-8-year-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/98030\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back On Amazing 8-Year Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angela Lee<\/a>\u2018s mark on the sport of MMA is one that\u2019s no doubt still being felt here in 2025 and will continue to be felt long after she\u2019s gone. Born in the summer of 1996 in Vancouver, BC, the one nicknamed \u201cUnstoppable\u201d had an early beginning to the world of martial arts.<\/p>\n

It runs in the Lee family. By the time she was just six years of age, the young Angela Lee had already been entered into martial arts competitions.<\/p>\n

By the time she was a teenager, she\u2019d win two championships in pankration before following it up with a state wrestling championship in Hawaii, where she relocated to with her family at age seven.<\/p>\n

\"Angela<\/a>Image Courtesy of ONE Championship.
\nAngela Lee\u2019s Quick Amateur Career Leads to Big Time with ONE Championship<\/p>\n

At age 18, the sport of MMA came calling for Lee. She answered the telephone in a victorious fashion each time. In just 89 days\u2019 time, Lee had already amassed three wins in a row and quickly turned her attention to the professional ranks with Chatri Sityodtong\u2019s<\/a> ONE Championship.<\/p>\n

On the night of May 22, 2015, she made her professional MMA debut<\/a> in the only promotion she\u2019d ever fight for, scoring a first-round armbar submission in a minute and 43 seconds to defeat Aya Saied Saber (3-9 MMA, 0-3 ONE Championship) in the latter\u2019s last fight under the ONE banner. Even in her first fight, it was clear that Angela Lee would eventually become a champion.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Two years removed from the fight, she discussed what happened the day beforehand with ONE.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was just so nervous and scared,\u201d Angela Lee said in 2017. \u201cYou could see it all over my face and it was just the weigh-ins. [ONE Championship Senior Vice President of Competition] Matt Hume just looked at me and said \u2018Relax, you are going to do well.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela Lee Rolls Along in ONE en Route to Championship Run<\/p>\n

By the time she had entered into the ONE Championship Circle for her sixth career appearance, she\u2019d finished all five of her previous opponents. All five of those stoppages were recorded by way of submission.<\/p>\n

During ONE: Ascent to Power in May of 2016, she\u2019d draw the assignment of Mei Yamaguchi (18-16-1 MMA, 6-6 ONE Championship.) At stake: The Inaugural ONE Atomweight (115 lbs) MMA Championship.<\/p>\n

While the scorecards factored into the decision for the first time in Angela Lee\u2019s professional career, the result was the same: a victory. This set off an incredible run as champion.<\/p>\n

By the time Angela Lee\u2019s championship reign ended, she held the title for 2,703 days without interruption, still a ONE Championship promotional record for longest run as a titlist. In 2019, she attempted to become the ONE Strawweight (125 lbs) MMA Champion in a fight against Xiong Jing Nan (19-2 MMA, 10-1 ONE Championship.<\/p>\n

Although Lee took Xiong to the fifth and final round of the fight, the latter thwarted the former\u2019s chance to become a double-champ. A second strawweight contest versus Michelle Nicolini (6-3 MMA, 4-2 ONE Championship) also resulted in a defeat before she returned to atomweight to defeat Stamp Fairtex (11-2 MMA, 11-2 ONE Championship) in her first fight back from maternity leave.<\/p>\n

Angela Lee Retires to Focus on Mental Health<\/p>\n

Lee made the walk for what would prove to be her final career fight in September of 2022. That night, in ONE on Prime Video 2, she made another bid for the ONE Strawweight MMA Championship against Xiang Jiangnan (19-2 MMA, 10-1 ONE Championship.) This bid, too, was unsuccessful, as she scored a unanimous decision after five rounds of action.<\/p>\n

A year later, she made an appearance in the ring at ONE on Prime Video 14, where she announced her retirement from active competition <\/a>in an effort to devote her time to mental health awareness.<\/p>\n

Caution: The following section contains material of a sensitive nature. Reader discretion is advised.<\/p>\n

Lee had been struggling with mental health issues in the past. In 2017, she fell asleep at the wheel of her car, resulting in a cut and burns. Years later, she confirmed that this was an attempt to end her own life.<\/p>\n

Her late sister, Victoria Lee, passed away due to suicide at age 18 in December of 2022. Angela Lee confirmed this news via her Instagram page after the first of the year in 2023. In the wake of Victoria\u2019s passing, the family-owned MMA gym operated by the Lees would close its doors, never to reopen.<\/p>\n

Lee decided to turn tragedy into triumph by founding Fightstory, a nonprofit aimed at raising mental health awareness through podcasting and videos.<\/p>\n

Angela Lee: Champion of Life<\/p>\n

While Angela Lee held the ONE Atomweight MMA Championship for over 2,700 days, she\u2019ll forever be a champion of life. This is one title that nobody can take away from her and she\u2019ll never be stripped of it.<\/p>\n

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