ONE Championship: Angela Lee admits she ‘felt like throwing up’ after training for first time since giving birth
- Atomweight champ opens up on physical and mental challenges of hitting the mats again at family’s United MMA Hawaii gym
- ‘I know my body is still far from fight shape … it’s so easy to focus on and criticise all the things that I don’t like right now,’ Lee says
ONE Championship atomweight champ Angela Lee has begun her journey back to fighting after training for the first time since giving birth to her daughter in April.
“Unstoppable” Lee (10-2) announced her pregnancy with husband and fellow ONE fighter Bruno Pucci last September, with the 24-year-old originally set to return in November this year.
“Today I was super excited and motivated to get back on the mats but also a little bit nervous!” Lee wrote in an Instagram post, alongside pictures of her training at the family-owned United MMA Hawaii gym. “Like everything I post, I’m going to be completely honest and transparent about my post-partum journey and about making my way back to the cage!”
“They grew so much since the last time we trained together!” she said of her siblings.
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“During the warm ups, my whole body felt strange lol I was moving slower, my joints were hurting and I kept thinking, ‘Why does the mat feel so hard?’
“After the warm ups, I felt like throwing up buuut I didn’t! So, that’s a success! For the rest of the training, we did grappling drills and that was a wrap! The 2 hours flew by!”
ONE has not announced a new date for its Empower card, which features the quarter-finals of the grand prix, but there is hope it could be staged in late June or early July, with the Singapore government beginning to ease restrictions again.
“I know that my body is still far from fight shape … When I look in the mirror and I see my squishy belly, I *try to give my body grace,” Lee added.
“If I’m honest, it’s pretty hard to do because it’s so easy to focus on and criticise all the things that I don’t like right now … But I gotta remember that this was the body that grew, nourished and protected my baby for 9 months! & that is the most amazing thing ever!!
“So here is where I’m at. This is my day 1. My body may feel like it’s been hit by a truck tomorrow but at least tonight, I have a smile on my face and my baby girl in my arms. She is my ultimate motivation.”.
