"I've never been in this kind of shape before" - Angela Lee details her balancing act between training and early motherhood

Angela Lee has had a challenging stretch of years since going on maternal leave from the Circle in 2019.

More than two years later, the fruits of Lee's rigorous training are definitely paying off ahead of her title defense against Stamp Fairtex at ONE Championship's 10th year event, ONE X, on March 26.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Lee detailed how it has been a challenge actually keeping weight instead of losing it since her return to training:

"I think it's due to the fact that I've been training a lot, but also, taking care of my nutrition a lot more, eating better food because I have to take care of my daughter. I'm still breastfeeding her. I'm still nursing her. That, combined with the amount of training that we're doing, I think that my metabolism is just continuously burning. I've never been in this kind of shape before, even before I was pregnant, so yeah, it's one less thing to worry about."

The 25-year-old Lee recently sent social media abuzz when she showed off her impressive return to competition-level shape after giving birth to daughter Ava Marie.

However, she revealed to SCMP that she was just as nervous as any other woman during her first foray into motherhood:

"It's really crazy because when I was pregnant, that was one of the things I was worried about. Obviously, it's my first time being a mom and going through a pregnancy, so I didn't know how it was going to affect me. Surprisingly, the weight has just been dropping off."

Catch Angela Lee's full interview with SCMP MMA below:

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Angela Lee keeps tabs on numerous potential ONE Championship challengers ahead of in-ring return

With the initial worries of motherhood now at the back of her mind, Angela Lee is now giving more focus to her return to the ONE Championship Circle whenever she is not preoccupied with mommy duties.

If her title match with Stamp goes in her favor, Lee has a long line of potential challengers raring to give her a difficult challenge.

Lee still has a long-standing feud and trilogy to settle with Xiong Jing Nan, preferably at strawweight if she has her way. Then there is Tiffany Teo, who has hinted at a move to atomweight following her recent wins.

Finally, Denice Zamboanga is still possibly waiting in the wings, especially if she prevails in her long-awaited rematch with Ham Seo Hee.

It may have been a long time since Lee stepped foot in the ONE Championship Circle, but she has given more than enough proof that she never lost her competitive fire.