ONE Championship: Aung La N Sang ‘heartbroken’ for Victoria Lee’s family after 18-year-old’s death
- Former two-division MMA champion gives his condolences to Lee’s siblings, mother and father – who was also her coach
- ‘As a man with a two-year-old girl, I know the connection you have … A father and a daughter, there’s no love like that,’ N Sang says
Aung La N Sang has paid tribute to Victoria Lee after her death at 18.
Former ONE Championship two-division MMA king N Sang has shared some of the biggest cards in the promotion’s history with Angela and Christian, and said he was “heartbroken” for their father and coach, Ken Lee.
“As a man with a two-year-old daughter, I know the connection you have with your daughter. A father and a daughter, there’s no love like that,” N Sang told the Post in Bangkok on Tuesday.
“It just hurts me to think about it. I met Victoria a year ago, and she’s so sweet – the whole family is so sweet. This is a hard one to take.”
N Sang shared a flight back to LAX Airport in Los Angeles with the Lee family after he had cornered Martin Nguyen in Singapore in September 2021, on the same card that Victoria and Christian had fought on.
Victoria Lee: the story of ONE’s Prodigy who died at 18
The 37-year-old “Burmese Python” remarked in an Instagram post at the time how Ken and his wife Jewelz Lee “did a great job raising their kids”, adding “they are very well behaved and respectful”.
Victoria, who went 3-0 during her brief career in ONE, looked like she was on her way to eventually being the family’s third world champion before her tragic death, which has left the world of MMA in mourning.
“I couldn’t believe it. When I read the post [by Angela], I had to re-read it, and re-read and re-read it again,” N Sang added. “I just feel for the whole family. I can’t even put it into words.
“Eighteen, just think about it. Eighteen. She had so much to live for. Potential future champion. Eighteen. She’s just a teenager. It just goes to show how short this life is.
“You gotta make good with your maker. It’s just hard for me to try to understand this, an 18-year-old passing away like that. I feel for the parents. I feel for the sister. I feel for the brothers. I feel for her family. So condolences to the Lee family, we’ll be praying for you guys for sure.”
N Sang is set to return to action at Saturday’s ONE Fight Night 6 event at Impact Arena in the Thai capital, which will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and admitted it would be an emotional day, with Victoria having originally been scheduled to fight on the card.
“It’s been emotional for everyone in ONE Championship, and even for you,” he said.
“So young, and so lively, and the next moment she’s gone. So we’ve just got to cherish every moment and be thankful for the life we have every single day.”
