Longtime ONE Championship star Angela Lee announced her retirement from MMA and vacated her ONE 115-pound title due to personal struggles and the tragic loss of her sister, intending now to focus on FightStory, a non-profit she created to support sharing stories about mental health.
Angela Lee, prominent ONE Championship star, made headlines as she announced her retirement from MMA and let go of her ONE 115-pound title. The news unfolded on Friday night at ONE Fight Night 14 in Singapore. Shortly before her retirement, Lee disclosed her struggles with mental health through a Players Tribune essay. In it, she unveiled that her 2017 car accident was a suicide attempt and her sister, Victoria Lee, also eighteen, ended her life in 2022.
The aftermath of these experiences has been particularly hard for Lee, influencing her decision to retire. “This year has been the hardest year of my life,” Lee remarked, choked with emotion. “I’m doing my best to pick up the pieces and move forward.” The decision was also accompanied by her confronting statement that she was wrapping up her fighting career. As she announced her retirement, she took a moment to thank everyone who has supported her journey, emphasizing the keyword was ‘battle’, usually within oneself rather than a physical contender.
Angela Lee’s journey in martial arts started early on, thanks to her family’s background in the field. This led her to compete in Pankration tournaments and learn Brazilian jiu-jitsu from a young age. At eighteen, she transitioned to MMA and joined ONE Championship, making a quick and positive impression. The beginning of her career boasted five consecutive wins, and she became the inaugural ONE 115-pound champion in 2016 at the age of 19. Her last competition was in October 2022, where she faced Xiong Jingnan, a reigning ONE 125-pound champion. Following her sister’s death, Lee took time off from the sport, signaling possible retirement.
Post-retirement, her focus is her non-profit, FightStory. It was founded in memory of her sister, Victoria, and aims to help others share their mental health struggles. “FightStory was created because of my sister Victoria, and I’m choosing to honor her and her life by moving forward and helping others,” Lee said. Lee finished her career with an impressive 11-3 record and remains undefeated at 115 pounds. After her exit, Stamp Fairtex conquered the championship at ONE Fight Night 14, taking over the vacant 115-pound title with a win over UFC veteran Seo Hee Ham.