Chatri Sityodtong on the legacy that Angela Lee leaves behind: “Love, kindness, and authenticity”

For ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Angela Lee will go down as one of the best female fighters in MMA history and a true superstar both in competition and outside of it.

‘Unstoppable’ decided to call it a career at the age of 27 at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video last week in Singapore. She vacated the ONE women’s atomweight MMA world title before announcing her retirement.

In deciding to retire, Angela Lee said that it was time for her to move to the next chapter of her life, which is to help save the lives of people going through mental health struggles like her through her newly formed nonprofit organization Fightstory. This is apart from being a mother to her daughter Ava Marie and wife to husband Bruno Pucci.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post after ONE Fight Night 14, Sityodtong paid tribute to the now-retired ONE superstar, highlighting that apart from the top-notch skills she showed inside the circle, Lee also left a legacy of holding herself to a high standard outside of the battlefield.

The ONE executive said:

“Angela is a pioneer, a trailblazer, arguably one of the best female pound-for-pound world championship fighters on the planet during her reign. Skill-wise, I’d say she’s the best pound-for-pound, but I always try to say that in the cage, against especially someone like [Xiong] Jing Nan was able to solve the puzzle of Angela. But in terms of skill set, I think her legacy will be one of love, kindness, and authenticity much like Victoria.”

Watch the interview below:

Prior to announcing her retirement, Angela Lee was on an indefinite leave from competition to mourn the death of her younger sister and fellow ONE fighter Victoria, who took her own life last December at the age of 18.

As she was on a self-imposed break, the former ONE champion said she found a bigger purpose in life of helping people cope with mental health struggles. She founded Fightstory to honor the memory of Victoria while also serving as a platform for her newfound mission.

While Angela Lee is now retired, her brother Christian, the ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion, is expected to return to competition sometime next year. And there is also a new ONE atomweight world champion in Stamp Fairtex, who defeated Ham Seo Hee for the championship belt at ONE Fight Night 14.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 14 can be watched anytime on demand via Amazon Prime Video in North America.