Angela Lee says retiring from MMA lifted a weight off her shoulders : “I’m just at peace with my decision”

Former ONE atomweight queen Angela Lee admitted feeling a sense of peace after retiring from MMA.

This past September, Lee emotionally closed the chapter on her life as an MMA world champion to embrace her new role as a leader of a non-profit organization FightStory which aims to help those who are struggling with mental health.

After vacating her belt inside the Circle, ONE Fight Night 14’s main event between Stamp Fairtex Ham for the ONE interim atomweight world title, was automatically upgraded to an undisputed world championship, which Stamp claimed via knockout.

On The MMA Hour this past week, Lee revealed that the decision to retire early was something she had contemplated since the tragic and sudden death of her younger sister, ‘The Prodigy’ Victoria Lee in December.

Ariel Helwani, host of the hit show MMA podcast, was then curious to know if she felt any weight lifted off her shoulders after retiring.

Angela Lee answered truthfully:

“Yes, this has been something that I've been thinking about a lot for the past year and you know I'm just at peace with my decision and you know the next steps moving forward for me.

So, I think that I have nothing but great memories and no regrets at all. I just know that this is the right thing to do, right now, at this moment, and just really excited to move forward with Fightstory, the nonprofit organization.”

Watch the full interview with Ariel Helwani below:

'Unstoppable’ Angela Lee has had an amazing fighting career that not many female athletes her age can boast about.

She was the youngest MMA world champion to win the 115-pound world in 2016 at the age of 19. She defended her crown five times, defeating notable names such as ONE three-sport world champion Stamp Fairtex and ONE strawweight MMA queen ‘The Panda’ Xiong Jing Nan, to maintain her position as the top 115-pounder in the world.

Indeed, Le has left a big legacy behind that she can be proud of. She’s opened the bracket for women in combat sports with her presence and unbreakable warrior spirit, so fans can only imagine the difference she’ll be making with her charity work outside the MMA ring.