Angela Lee on her decision to open up about 2017 suicide attempt: “Be honest and transparent with what's happened”

Former ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion and ONE Championship legend ‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee has been one of mixed martial arts’ most inspiring champions. But now that she no longer holds the coveted golden belt, Lee has chosen to champion a completely different cause – one that she believes could help her change the world.

Lee dropped a bombshell a couple of weeks ago, when she officially announced her retirement from professional MMA competition just before the main event of ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham in Singapore. The news comes on the heels of the revelation that her younger sister, fellow ONE Championship athlete Victoria Lee, tragically took her own life in December 2022.

Along with the news of Victoria’s suicide, Lee announced that she had established FightStory, a non-profit organization that aims to help people suffering from depression. She also revealed that her infamous 2017 car crash was actually a suicide attempt.

Speaking to veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, Lee spoke on her decision to bring all of this news to light, especially her attempt at taking her own life.

Unstoppable’ said:

“The decision to do that was because when I decided to honor my sister in this way by creating Fightstory, this nonprofit organization, one of the main goals through Fightstory is to share stories and be open, sharing these experiences. So I thought to myself how can I lead this initiative if I don't step forward myself and be honest and transparent with what's happened in my life.”

Catch Lee's comments from 6:20 onwards:

No longer a ONE world champion, Lee hopes to dedicate her time now to helping others by sharing her incredible story.

Lee concluded:

“Thankfully now I'm at a point in my life where I have healed and I'm in a a space where I'm okay to talk about that and what I've went through and I just think it's important for the world to see the truth of of what what we go through, you know, not just as athletes or fighters but as human beings.”