Angela Lee says she found her purpose in life after long MMA hiatus: “It’s saving lives”

ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion Angela Lee remains on the sidelines as she continues to grieve a tragic loss. She, however, said that the time away from the game has allowed her to find a bigger purpose in life.

‘Unstoppable’ is on a self-imposed break as she and her family are still mourning the untimely passing of younger sister and fellow ONE Championship fighter Victoria in December last year.

Initially the cause of death was not made known, but recently Angela Lee herself revealed that her sister took her own life.

During this difficult time, the Singaporean-American champion said certain realizations dawned on her, including finding a bigger purpose in life which she is now channeling through her newly formed non-profit charity Fightstory.

Lee shared this in a recent interview with Daniel Cormier on ESPN MMA, saying:

“It’s hard, it’s really hard, you know. But I realized now that, you know, my purpose in life is so much greater than just winning championships and winning fights. You know, it’s saving lives, helping people. And for me, I'm really grateful to have found that.”

Watch the interview below:

Fightstory was formed to honor the memory of ‘The Prodigy’ Victoria Lee and is aimed at helping people going through mental health struggles, which Angela Lee said she goes through every now and then.

At the time of her death, Victoria was on a roll, undefeated in her first three fights in ONE Championship.

Angela Lee, for her part, was last in action in September 2022, where she vied for the ONE women’s strawweight MMA world title against world champion Xiong Jing Nan of China. She, however, lost by unanimous decision in the all-champion clash.

While she remains on a break from competition, the promotion is holding an interim ONE women’s atomweight MMA world title fight later this month.