“I was walking out like a zombie” – Angela Lee recalls inaugural title fight against Mei Yamaguchi

Former ONE atomweight MMA world champion Angela Lee remembers feeling like a zombie as she made her walk to the Circle for her first opportunity at ONE Championship gold.

Laying down her title in September, Lee walked away from the sport of mixed martial arts as one of, if not, the greatest atomweight fighters in the sport's history.

Capturing her first world title eight years prior in the same venue, Lee was the promotion’s first and, to that point, the only titleholder the division had ever known.

She claimed the atomweight world title with a decisive unanimous decision victory over Mei Yamaguchi, but looking back on the bout, ‘Unstoppable’ revealed that she was terrified going into what was, at the time, the biggest fight of her young career.

“In 2016, you know, that was like the biggest test of my life, taking on Mei Yamaguchi,” she said during an appearance on the Keep It Aloha podcast. “I finally had a shot at the world championship title and there wasn't a female champion at the time. So I was like ‘This is my calling, this is what I was meant to do.’

“But there was a lot of pressure on me as well and I just remember in all of my other fights leading up to that moment I did my walk out right and I was smiling just high-fiving the fans. And in that fight for the walkout, I was terrified, my face was blank. I was walking out like a zombie.”

Angela Lee begins a new chapter

Angela Lee went on to defend the atomweight title five times against the likes of Mei Yamaguchi, Xiong Jing Nan and Stamp Fairtex.

In fact, Lee’s only losses under the ONE Championship banner came in the strawweight division. She never once lost a bout at atomweight.

Since retiring from the sport, Lee has been focused on building Fightstory, a non-profit mental health organization she founded in tribute to her sister, Victoria Lee, who tragically passed away in December 2022.

Fightstory is dedicated to sharing the stories of fighters from all walks of life. To learn more about Fightstory or how you can join the fight, visit the organization’s official Instagram.