Angela Lee is a fan favorite among die-hard MMA fans. The undefeated ONE Championship atomweight champion has martial arts in her DNA. Her brother, Christian Lee, is also a ONE Championship superstar in his own right. Lee gets her chance to become a two-division champion as she will take on strawweight champion, Xiong Jing Nan, on November 09, 2018 at ONE Championship: Heart of the Lion.
Martial Arts in the Blood
“Both of my parents have been life-long martial artists and so martial arts has been in my life even before I was born!” Lee told MMASucka. “My childhood consisted of a lot of family time and long days in the gym.” To this day Lee continues to work with her father. She received her black belt in BJJ from her father, Ken Lee, and Mike Fowler. Fowler is a third-degree black belt and a former IBJJ national champion.
Lee’s younger brother, Christian, is one of the brightest, youngest rising stars in all of MMA. Christian is currently 9-3 but his last matchup ended in a controversial disqualification where the referee ruled Christian used an “illegal suplex” by spiking Edward Kelly. Many disagree with the ruling.
Both share a very special connection that feeds the other. “Everything I am today is thanks to my mom and dad. My parents have given me love, support, and discipline” Lee stated. “They have taught me skills not just in fighting but in life too. They have helped me to develop my own fight style, passed down years of precious knowledge, and constantly think of new techniques and strategies.”
Sharing the Big Stage with her Brother
“It’s an amazing feeling to fight alongside my brother. It’s something we’ve been doing since we were five years old!” Lee stated to MMASucka. “Although it’s a familiar feeling, the nerves and excitement never gets old. We’ve fought together at tournaments, amateur events, and now professional fights. We feed off the energy from one another. I believe that when we prepare on the same night, the focus, desire, and motivation to win amplifies.”
ONE Championship
ONE Championship has been on a meteoric rise since its inception in July 2011. The organization now streams all their events live through their downloadable free mobile app. The large exposure base makes it available for residents in 138 countries and over 1.7 billion potential viewers. Asia’s number one sports media property is a favorite organization of many of your die-hard MMA fans. The atomweight champion seems to be at home with the organization and very happy with where the company is headed.
“I am very proud to be apart of ONE Championship and the amazing growth that they’ve had over the past few years,” Lee told MMASucka. “I think that the organization is expanding rapidly and gaining many fans worldwide. One of the many reasons why die-hard martial arts fans love ONE Championship is because they can follow the stories of these talented and exciting fighters. ONE does a phenomenal job of sharing all aspects of the fighters, especially the dedication they have to pursue their dreams. I also believe that many people gravitate to the traditional martial arts values that the organization is founded upon; Discipline, Integrity, Honor, Respect. ONE Championship wants to inspire and unite everyone around the globe through martial arts.”
Rise to the Championship
The undefeated atomweight was very successful prior to entering MMA. In 2013, Lee won the HHSAA (Hawaii High School Athletic Association) 121-pound girls state wrestling championship. She also won the 2012 full contact and semi contact World Pangration Athlima Federation World Championships.
At 19 years of age, Lee made her professional MMA debut winning by first-round armbar against Aya Saber at One Championship 27. Lee fought four times in 2015 from May to December. During the four-fight span, she would submit all four opponents with only one making it out of the first round. This steamroll of a start led to her second contest of 2016 being for the atomweight title.
On May 06, 2016, Lee took on Mei Yamaguchi for the atomweight title at ONE Championship 42. Lee took the champion to a decision and walked out of the cage as the unanimous winner. Since winning the championship over two years ago, Lee has successfully defended the title four times with her most recent being a successful unanimous decision victory over the woman she took the title from, Yamaguchi, at ONE Championship 73 in May 2018.
One Step from Being ONE Double Champion
On November 09, 2018 Lee will get her shot at becoming a double champion as she takes on strawweight champion Jing Nan Xiong. If Lee is successful she would hold the only women’s titles in the ONE organization. Jing will not be an easy outing for Lee. Three of Jing’s last four contests have ended by her knockout power. Since winning the strawweight title from Tiffany Teo by round four knockout, she has successfully defended her title twice thus far.
Make sure to catch the big matchup on the ONE Championship free mobile app on November 09, 2018 live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. Lee has all of the tools and mindset to become the double champion of women’s MMA.
Main Photo
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I wonder why ONE had Samara, who was 1-4 in her last 5 fights, challenge Xiong for the title. Michelle Nicolini, the BJJ sensation, has won 3 fights straight in ONE and is 5-1 overall. I guess they wanted Xiong to look good in her home country.