Angela Lee admits struggling with unbearable pressure in the cutthroat MMA world: “It became this buildup”

Angela Lee may have looked like the personification of composed domination, but inside the ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion was fighting an unseen battle.

‘Unstoppable’ revealed in an emotional interview with Parents.com how the pressure in the cutthroat world of mixed martial arts got to her.

It wasn’t until she took to writing journals and confiding to her husband Bruno Pucci, himself a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, that Lee overcame the harsh struggle.

Lee said:

“I believed with all my soul that I did extremely well under pressure. I told myself I thrived under it. But it became this buildup, and I never fully addressed everything that I was feeling and going through.”

Lee is one of the most dominant world champions in MMA history, and her reign with the ONE women’s atomweight MMA world championship has been going on for more than seven years now.

The Singaporean-American star captured the throne when she beat Mei Yamaguchi via unanimous decision at ONE: Ascent to Power in May 2016. She’s since defended the strap five times.

Lee’s most recent world title defense was her second-round submission win over Thai megastar Stamp Fairtex at ONE X in March 2022.

Although Lee has an indomitable presence inside the circle, she’s taken an indefinite hiatus following the untimely passing of her younger sister, Victoria, in December 2022.

Since Victoria’s death, Lee has turned her efforts into charity and leading the non-profit organization FightStory.

Lee, however, will make an announcement regarding her career at ONE Fight Night 14 this Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Fans in North America can witness Lee’s announcement and the entire ONE Fight Night 14 card live and for free via Prime Video.