Following an Emotional Speech, Former ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA Queen Angela Lee Announces Her Retirement

Longtime ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Champion Angela Lee made a significant announcement ahead of the main event at ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on Prime Video.

“Unstoppable” was visibly emotional as she made her way to the ONE Championship Circle this past Friday night, Saturday morning in Asia, where she addressed the future of her career publicly.

Former One atomweight queen Angela Lee bids an emotional adios to the sports

Speaking with Mitch Chilson in the center of the Circle, the Singaporean-American held back tears as she discussed the challenges she has faced over the past few months. “This year has been the toughest year of my life,” she revealed. “I’m doing my best to pick up the pieces and move forward.” The 27-year-old recently disclosed that her near-fatal accident in 2017 was actually a suicide attempt. She also shared that her sister, Victoria, tragically took her own life last December.

In honor of her sister, Lee established Fightstory, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting healing by sharing difficult stories. She further explained that Victoria is a significant inspiration behind the organization’s mission. “Fightstory was created because of my sister Victoria. I am choosing to honor her and her life by moving forward and helping others,” she affirmed.

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“Our mission at Fightstory is to save lives. We believe that speaking the truth, raising awareness, and fostering a safe community is paramount.”Lee had hinted at the possibility of retiring in the days leading up to the event, and fans were eagerly anticipating her announcement.

Lee’s emotional journey inside and outside of the cage

The representative of Evolve MMA and United MMA placed her World Title belt on the floor before addressing the crowd. “I am here today to officially announce my retirement. It has been an incredible 8 years. I just want to say thank you to the fans, to ONE Championship, to Chatri, to my teams, and to everyone. There have been so many battles in and out of the cage,” she expressed. “The last thing I want to say is this – to the fighters and to everyone watching right now – the greatest battle we are going to face won’t be with an opponent standing in front of us. The greatest battle will be within ourselves. We all go through struggles, but we all fight. And each day, we are victorious when we choose to rise up in the face of adversity, so thank you guys so much. I love you, thank you!”

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She later joined the broadcast team to commentate on the main event, which became a showdown for the vacant ONE Women’s Atomweight MMA World Championship. Stamp emerged as the victor, becoming only the second woman to hold the prestigious title since its inception and achieving the historic feat of becoming the first-ever three-sport World Champion in the world’s largest martial arts organization.