3 potential fights for Victoria Lee to kick-start her 2022 campaign 

2021 was a banner year for young stars inside the ONE circle, and the cream of the crop from the talented future prospects has to be Singaporean-American rising star Victoria Lee.

The 17-year-old martial artist arrived at the Singapore-based organization with huge expectations. Her brother, Christian, was then the lightweight king, while her sister Angela was – and still is – the reigning ONE women's atomweight world champion.

Some rising talents might have found that pressure intimidating, but not the youngest of the Lee siblings.

In her professional MMA debut at ONE: Fist of Fury last February, 'The Prodigy' forced Sunisa Srisan to tap to a rear-naked choke. Five months later, she returned to the Singapore Indoor Stadium and secured an impressive finish against China's Wang Luping.

Then at ONE: Revolution in September last year, the 166cm upstart extended her slate to 3-0 with a knockout victory over Brazilian star Victoria Souza.

With a 100 percent finishing rate and an unbeaten streak, plenty of women would love to test themselves against Victoria Lee.

Here are three potential opponents for Victoria Lee as she aims to get her sophomore year as a professional fighter off and running.

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#3 Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol

Indonesia’s Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol is eyeing a return this year, and it would be interesting to see her go up against one of the brightest stars in the atomweight division.

Like Victoria Lee, the 33-year-old kicked off her professional career at The Home of Martial Arts. Despite failing to leave the Circle with a win in her first two outings against Tiffany Teo and Gina Iniong in 2017, Lumban Gaol started 2018 with three successive wins.

More impressively, she ended the year having fought a total of five fights – making her one of the most active fighters in the promotion during that calendar year. Her career tally currently stands at 7-5.

Lumban Gaol is well-rounded in all aspects of her game. She is an experienced striker, given her wushu sanda background, and is equally adept on the canvas. The Indonesian athlete rarely depends on her grappling, but she seemed to understand how to maneuver her way out of dangerous positions in her fights against Jihin Radzuan and Jomary Torres.

These skills would be put to good use against Victoria Lee, who is very comfortable in either of those two areas. The Hawaiin 17-year-old showcased a good mix of her stand-up and grappling prowess in each of her appearances last year.

Victoria Lee could face some struggles when it comes to taking Lumban Gaol down. However, if she could further enhance her strength and creativity, the Indonesian fighter’s attempts to defend against takedowns could prove to be futile.

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#2 Gina Iniong

Team Lakay’s Gina Iniong is raring for a return to the circle after taking some time off to give birth to her daughter, Gianna Rose.

At one point, the Filipino warrior was the most promising star in the division and was touted as a potential world title contender at the Singapore-based promotion.

She is still not far off from that dream but has a lot of catching up to do, given the new additions to the atomweight roster – one of which being Victoria Lee.

A date against the young star would be a great test to see whether she could swiftly turn things around and get back into the divisional rankings.

Iniong’s wushu and striking have frustrated the likes of Mei Yamaguchi and Asha Roka in the past, and it could pose some danger to Victoria Lee, who loves to close the distance and take the fight to her rivals.

Speed and grappling could be the biggest concern for Iniong. Ring rust could be another worry for the mother of one, but seeing that she is back in training at Team Lakay, alongside several MMA world champions, being out of action for 24 months shouldn't be a source of distress.

The Filipino fighter does have experience on her side. But Victoria Lee, despite barely having five rounds of professional MMA experience under her belt, has looked just as experienced as some of her more senior comrades.

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#1 Itsuki Hirata

Before Victoria Lee's arrival, Itsuki Hirata was the youngest and brightest star in the 115lb division, often described as the most stacked weight class in the promotion.

The unbeaten Japanese star made her bow on the global stage as a 19-year-old in 2019, and she used her unique judoka skills to score two fantastic submission wins over Rika Ishige and Angelie Sabanal in her first year.

Some martial arts enthusiasts branded the Tokyo star as one-dimensional following those victories, but she silenced the doubters with a knockout win in 2020 and another in 2021.

Victoria Lee also had her fair share of critics during her debut campaign last year. But like 'Android 18', she slammed the door shut on her haters by showing her ability to work her way around her opponents' strengths.

Both athletes love to tag their rivals with punches before shooting in for takedowns or trips. They don't rush to take their fights to the ground and are more than happy to stand and bang, which would make this fight a guaranteed barn burner.

Who would you like to see Victoria Lee take on in 2022?