“It’s what you're meant to do” – Angela Lee on her big stage debut as a young up-and-coming athlete in ONE Championship

Even as an aspiring teenage fighter, Angela Lee was immediately drawn to the bright light and grand stage of ONE Championship.

In September 2023, Lee returned from mixed martial arts as one of the greatest pound-for-pound female fighters in the history of the sport. But eight short years ago, she was an 18-year-old prospect making her first walk to the Circle at ONE: Warrior’s Quest on May 22, 2015. Lee earned a first-round submission victory that night in what would be the first of an incredible nine-fight win streak.

Along the way, Lee would etch her name in the history books, becoming the promotion’s first-ever ONE atomweight MMA world champion. And up until she laid down the belt at ONE Fight Night 14, she was the only queen the atomweight division had known.

“It was hard,” Angela Lee said of her promotional debut during an appearance on the Keep It Aloha podcast. “I still had to, you know, train really hard for the fights but I just gravitated to the lights and the experience and the travel and everything that came with it in 2015/2016. I was battling with myself in my mind saying you know you have to do this like this is what you're meant to do.”

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Angela Lee closed out her incredible career still on top

Throughout her eight-year career in MMA, Angela Lee amassed an impressive 11-3 record, her only losses coming in the strawweight division.

During her time on top, the ‘Unstoppable’ champion defended her crown against some of the most dangerous names in the sport, including Mei Yamaguchi, ONE strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan, and the promotion’s only three-sport titleholder Stamp Fairtex.

Today, Lee pours her heart and soul into Fightstory, a non-profit mental health organization established as a way to pay tribute to her late sister and MMA prospect, Victoria Lee, who tragically passed away in late 2022.

Fightstory is dedicated to sharing the stories of fighters from all walks of life. To learn more and join the fight, visit the organization’s official Instagram.