TRIGGER WARNING: The following story may be distressing to some readers as it tackles topics such as suicide, trauma, and depression.
Angela Lee, one of ONE Championship's top mixed martial arts (MMA) stars, has announced her retirement Friday (September 29) ahead of the main event fight between Stamp Fairtex and Seo Hee Ham.
While she was being interviewed, she ceremoniously laid down her championship belt at the fighting ring to signify her retirement.
Before her shock announcement during ONE Fight Night 14 in Singapore, she had reigned in the atomweight (115 pounds/52 kg) division of the league for a long time.
Stamp vs. Ham
Lee's retirement brought massive implications to the match between Stamp and Ham. Initially, the fight was only supposed to be for an interim championship, but has since been upgraded to the undisputed title.
The fight resulted in Stamp's TKO victory, succeeding Lee in the atomweight title.
Lee retired with a professional record of 11-3.
Lee's New Battle
Lee has decided to leave competitive MMA for good after the tragic suicide of her 18-year-old sister and fellow MMA fighter, Victoria, December 2022. She told ESPN in the days leading up to her retirement that she also attempted suicide in 2017.
She said her heart was leading her away from the fight and into what she said was the right direction.
Now that she has retired, Lee said she would focus on being a wife to fellow MMA fighter Bruno Pucci and mother to their two-year-old daughter Ava, as well as working for FightStory, a non-profit organization she started in honor of Victoria. The charity aims to allow people to tell their personal stories about mental health.
Lee, 27, is a Canadian-American of Singaporean-Chinese and Korean descent. She won the atomweight title in 2016 when she was only 19 years old, making her the youngest champion in the history of major MMA.
Her 25-year-old brother, Christian, is also an MMA fighter who currently holds ONE's lightweight and welterweight championship belts.
