Angela Lee’s focus is not so much on what she has already achieved in a short but spectacular career. It’s more on what lies ahead.
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“It’s been great so far but there’s still a long way to go,” says the 20-year-old. “I have so much more I want to achieve in this sport so this is just the beginning.”
It’s been 12 months now since Lee wrote herself into the annals of mixed martial arts history by defeating Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi to win the One Championship’s women’s atomweight world title. Lee was 19 at the time and that victory, after five gruelling rounds on May 5, 2016, made her the sport’s youngest-ever world champion.
Lee has gone from strength to strength in the sport.
The year that has passed has seen Lee’s stocks as a fighter – and as a brand – explode but there has been just the one title defence, albeit a three-round dismantling of Taiwan’s Jenny Huang in Bangkok in March that introduced the world to a redefined Lee, in terms of both physique and of style. Extra cardio work and dieting had Lee chiselled for that bout and she came out throwing big combinations before Huang succumbed to the punishment.
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Next Friday night Lee returns “home” to Singapore for the One: Dynasty of Heroes card where she’ll face the undefeated 24-year-old Brazilian Istela Nunes (6-0) and – given the footage seen and the reputation Nunes carries with her – likely the toughest test of her career so far in the co-main event.
Intrigue has surrounded Lee’s fight plan – will she go toe-to-toe with the two-time world muay thai champion or revert to the ground game schooled through her own wrestling and pankration background. When asked about what might be in store, the fighter gets straight to the point.
Lee adapted her style in her last fight against Jenny Huang.
