Angela Lee says parents should allow kids to flourish without pressure: “The main thing at that age is to have fun”

Former ONE atomweight world champion Angela Lee believes it is her job as a parent to guide her daughter toward a successful life without forcing anything and applying unnecessary pressure.

In September, Lee announced her retirement from mixed martial arts after nearly a decade of dominance in the sport.

Today, the promotion’s first-ever atomweight queen is putting much of her focus on being a parent. In April 2021, Lee and her husband, Bruno Pucci, welcomed their firstborn and daughter, Ava Marie.

Since then, Angela Lee’s primary goal has been to give her child a healthy life filled with love and happiness. Appearing on The Aloha Hour, Lee spoke about her desire to provide Ava Marie with the tools necessary to succeed, but without all the pressure that so many parents tend to put on their children these days:

“Yeah, of course. I think that's how it should be, you know I think a lot of kids, we see a lot of kids, you know, come in and the main thing at that age is to have fun, to have fun to learn something, you know,” Lee said. “But the pressure from parents kind of pushing them, forcing them, sometimes, you know, kills the joy.”

In addition to being a proud parent, Angela Lee is also the proprietor of FightStory, a non-profit mental health organization dedicated to telling the stories of fighters and people from all walks of life. FightStory was established as a way to pay tribute to her sister and MMA prodigy Victoria Lee, who tragically took her own life in late 2022.

To learn more about FightStory and how you can join the fight against mental health issues, visit the organization's official Instagram.