“She’s a guiding light for me” – Angela Lee focused on becoming a ‘better mom’ for daughter Ava Marie after retirement

Former undisputed ONE women’s atomweight MMA world champion ‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee has shifted her focus from fighting on the world’s biggest stage, to helping people battle depression and the darkness of suicide.

Lee retired from professional mixed martial arts competition in late September, following months in hiatus due to the tragic death of her younger sister, fellow ONE Championship athlete Victoria Lee, late last December. It was later revealed that Victoria had committed suicide.

Since then, Lee has chosen to leave a life of fighting in the cage behind to establish her non-profit organization, FightStory.

She hopes to help not only other people with their mental health struggles, but also provide a ‘safe space’ for her firstborn daughter, Ava Marie, who now serves as her inspiration.

Speaking on The Aloha Hour podcast, Lee talked about becoming ‘a better mom’ for her daughter, and how Ava Marie is helping her help others.

“Right now, my priority is to take care of myself and I make sure that I'm doing all these things to stay healthy, physically and mentally, that’s it. I'm going to be a better mom for Ava, and so that's my motivation.”

“You know, when I think about what I'm doing with FightStory and what I'm trying to change, I think about how I want her to grow up and the kind of environment I want to create for her having a safe space where she feels she can talk to me about these things. That's why I'm doing these changes, you know. So yeah, she’s definitely a guiding light for me right now.”

Lee was last seen in action in October of 2022, where she lost a unanimous decision to ONE women’s strawweight MMA world champion ‘The Panda’ Xiong Jing Nan. Prior to that defeat, the 27-year-old former Evolve MMA and United MMA athlete was one of the most dominant female athletes in ONE Championship.