ONE Championship star Angela Lee has announced her retirement.
At Friday’s ONE Fight Night 14 in Singapore, Lee made her return to the promotion but not for a fight. Lee made an emotional walk to the cage where she laid down her belt and broke news to the world that she’s done fighting.
The announcement came days after Lee revealed her ongoing mental health struggles (including a 2017 suicide attempt) before and after the death of her 18-year-old sister Victoria, who took her own life in December 2022.
“I’m here today to officially announce my retirement,” Lee said. “It has been an incredible eight years. I just want to say thank you to the fans, to ONE Championship, to Chatri (Sityodtong), to my teams, and to just everyone. There have been so many battles in and out of the cage.”
“The last thing I want to say is this, to the fighters and to everyone out there watching right now. The greatest battle that we’ll ever 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. Each day, we’re victorious when we choose to rise up in the face of adversity. So thank you guys so much. I love you. Thank you.”
Lee, 27, entered ONE Championship for her pro debut in 2015 – at age 18. She quickly emerged as a potential prodigy. An undefeated 8-0 run to kick off her professional career set Lee up for a crack at the title, which she won when she defeated then-champion Mei Yamaguchi by unanimous decision in May 2018.
Though Lee lost her first defense attempt to Jingnag Xiong and her following bout vs. Michelle Nicolini, Lee bounced back when she avenged the Xiong loss, then defeated Stamp Fairtex.
Lee most recently competed in September 2022 when she lost a thrilling unanimous decision rubber match to Xiong. The trilogy was filled with action and has been highlighted by many viewers as some of the most exciting fights in the promotion’s history.
Since Lee vacated her 115-pound title, Friday’s ONE Fight Night 114 main event between Stamp Fairtex and Seo Hee Ham upgraded from an interim to undisputed championship bout.
