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At ONE Fight Night 14 this past September, ONE Championship’s first-ever women's atomweight MMA world champion, Angela Lee, announced her abrupt retirement after holding the belt for more than seven years. The surprising announcement was made before the evening's main event, which was originally scheduled for the division's interim strap.
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Angela Lee's choice to hang up her gloves came on the heels of the tragic passing of her sister and fellow ONE atomweight star, Victoria Lee, a year prior. Lee, together with her brother and ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion Christian Lee, went on an indefinite break from the sport to heal and regroup as a family.
The interim world title bout between Stamp Fairtex and Ham Seo Hee was initially created to determine who would face the Singaporean-American star once she announces her return to competition.
Instead, a teary-eyed and emotional Lee walked down the ramp towards the Circle with her belt on her shoulder. Once she entered the cage, she announced her retirement and left the world title in the middle of the Circle.
Here's the recently-shared behind-the-scenes footage of the fight week leading up to Angela Lee's retirement:
Angela Lee's former-foe-turned-friend Stamp Fairtex won the belt at ONE Fight Night 14
On the same night Angela Lee retired, her former foe and now-close friend Stamp Fairtex made history by becoming the new ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion.
In achieving this feat, the Thai superstar became the first fighter in the promotion's history to win world titles in three different sports. Stamp Fairtex has won the ONE women's atomweight Muay Thai, kickboxing, and now, MMA world titles.
Stamp's first shot at MMA gold was unsuccessful when she ran into Lee and was submitted in the second round in an exciting bout at ONE X in March 2022. After her loss to 'Unstoppable', Stamp bounced back with three strong MMA wins, culminating in a marvelous performance for the belt at ONE Fight Night 14.
In her fight with Ham Seo Hee, Stamp got dropped in the second round but came back blazing in the third to get the finish via TKO. Not only was Stamp Fairtex awarded with a new gold belt, it also got her a sweet $50,000 bonus from ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
