“I was doing something that I loved” – Angela Lee had no issues fighting in male-dominant MMA almost a decade ago

Today, women’s mixed martial arts is just as respected and revered as men’s MMA. But when ‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee first signed with ONE Championship in 2015, that was far from the case.

For many years, women were constantly fighting for their spot in the male-dominated sport, but for the former ONE atomweight MMA world champion, it only motivated her to keep moving forward and eventually etch her name into the history books.

“For me, I didn't even think about that, you know,” Lee said on the Keep It Aloha podcast. “I just knew that I was doing something that I loved, that I was good at, and I just wanted to keep moving forward and get to the top. I think it motivated me more than anything, the fact that when I joined the organization there were no female world champions."

He added:

“I made it a point to myself, I was like I'm going to be that first female champion, you know.”

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Angela Lee always preferred to let her skills do the talking

Capturing the inaugural atomweight title less than a year removed from her promotional debut, Angela Lee went on to defend the title an incredible five times, besting some of the best women in all of combat sports, including Xiong Jing Nan and three-sport queen Stamp Fairtex.

“For me I just always let my skills and techniques do the talking,” Lee continued. “If someone says like, ‘Oh, you're a girl, you can't fight.’ I'm like ‘Watch me!.’ So that was always what it was about. It just motivated me.”

In September, Lee laid down her 26 pounds of gold at ONE Fight Night 14, announcing her official retirement from mixed martial arts.

Today, she is dedicating her time to Fightstory, a non-profit mental health organization established in honor of her late sister, Victoria Lee, who sadly passed away in late 2022.

To learn more bout Fightstory, visit the official Instagram.