“Fightstory is created to unite the world” – Angela Lee talks about her new personal mission after retiring from MMA

Recently retired Angela Lee wants her non-profit organization Fightstory to bring people together and rally behind tackling mental health struggles. She said that it is now her personal mission as she begins life away from competition.

The former ONE women’s atomweight mixed martial arts world champion formed Fightstory this year to honor the memory of her younger sister and fellow ONE fighter Victoria, who took her own life at the age of 18 last December. She also wants to make a difference in the lives of other people through it.

The organization is aimed at helping people struggling with mental health get through life, to make sure that they are not alone in their battles.

Angela Lee further shed light on what they want to accomplish in an interview with Hawaii News Now, saying:

“Fightstory is a mental health non-profit organization that I founded just this year. I founded it in honor of my sister Victoria Lee. Fightstory is created to unite everyone, unite the world, fighters from all walks of life, not just the fighters you see inside the cage, but people at the store, your teachers, people in all the work fields.”

Watch the interview below:

Angela Lee is no stranger to mental health struggles, having nearly taken her own life back in 2017 when the challenges of her professional fighting career proved too much to bear. She does not want anyone like her to go through such an ordeal by putting up Fightstory.

The Singapore-American fighter retired undefeated as ONE women’s atomweight mixed martial arts champion. But before making her retirement official in September, she was already on a self-imposed break to mourn the tragic death of her sister.

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Angela Lee overwhelmed by the amount of support that Fightstory has received so far

Angela Lee is excited and grateful for the warm reception that her newly formed non-profit organization Fightstory has been getting. She said it only inspires them more to further develop their program and succeed in their mission.

Established this year to help people struggling with mental health go through life, ‘Unstoppable’ said support for them has been overwhelming, with people from various backgrounds expressing willingness to help in whatever capacity.

She shared to The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani:

“It really blew me away just to see how many messages have come in, detailing not only their own personal struggles but of a loved one or of a loved one who's not here. And just to see that, like that you know we're definitely not alone in how we're feeling, and that this issue is something that affects everyone.”

“Mental health is something that affects each and every one of us and it's something that we just don't say, we don't talk about it, no one likes to bring up that kind of conversation. But it's important you know that we do that [open up about mental health].”

Check out the interview below:

Angela Lee said the endeavor is also to honor the memory of her younger sister and fellow ONE fighter Victoria, who took her own life at the age of 18 back in December.

It is also where the former ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion wants to focus her attention in the next phase of her life after announcing her retirement from competition last September. That's in addition to being a mother and a wife.