Quick Facts
Biography
Angela Seung-Ju Lee (Chinese: 李胜珠, Korean: 이승주, born July 8, 1996) is a Canadian mixed martial artist of Chinese and Korean heritage who’s currently competing in ONE Championship. Although she holds Canadian and American citizenship, Lee has licensed to represent Singapore in sports.
Born in Vancouver to a Chinese-Singaporean father and a Korean mother, Lee moved to Hawaii at age 7. Her parents are both martial artists, so she began training at a young age and competing at age 6. Her younger brother Christian (born June 21, 1998, in Vancouver) is also an MMA fighter and her two other younger siblings, Victoria and Adrian (born in Waipahu), also train in martial arts.
In 2011, Angela Lee won her division at the USA Amateur pankration national championships, and the next year, she claimed her division at the World Pangration Athlima Federation world championships in Greece. On May 5, 2016, she became the youngest person to ever win a world title in MMA by defeating Mei Yamaguchi to win the ONE Women's Atomweight (115 lbs) Title. As of June 2017, Fight Matrix ranks her #14 female MMA Strawweight (105.1-115 lbs) in the world. Lee was awarded her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt on February 9, 2018, by third-degree black belt Mike Fowler and her father Ken Lee, who is also a black belt.
Mixed martial arts career
In 2014, Lee made her amateur debut, and in November of that year she won an amateur title by beating Audrey Perkins at Destiny MMA: Na Koa 7 in Honolulu to become the Destiny MMA strawweight champion.
ONE Championship
Lee signed with ONE Championship in 2014 and made her promotional debut at ONE Championship 28: Warrior's Quest on May 22, 2015, submitting Aya Saber with an arm bar in the opening round.
Following the win, Lee dropped out of college in Hawaii (she was studying business) and moved to Singapore to join Evolve MMA. In her next fight, she used a rear naked choke hold to beat Mona Samir at ONE Championship: Odyssey of Champions on September 27, 2015, in the first round.
Lee's third professional fight was at ONE Championship 33: Pride of Lions on November 13, 2015, and she submitted Natalie Gonzales Hills with a twister in the opening round in what commentators described as a potential submission of the year contender. She subsequently won the 2015 WMMA Press Award for Submission of the Year.
Next, she faced Lena Tkhorevska at ONE Championship 36: Spirit of Champions on December 11, 2015, and won with a rear naked choke in the second round. Lee's first fight of 2016 was against Rebecca Heintzman at ONE Championship 39: Tribe of Warriors on February 20, 2016, and she won with a second round neck crank.
Lee's reward for submitting her first five opponents was a shot at the inaugural ONE Championship Atomweight Women's Title against Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi at ONE Championship 42: Ascent to Power on May 6, 2016. Winning the fight would make her the youngest-ever MMA world champion.
Lee won the fight by unanimous decision to become the inaugural ONE Women's Atomweight Champion, and received a $68,200 SGD bonus for her performance. The MMA media described her fight with Yamaguchi as a Fight of the Year contender. She subsequently signed a new contract with ONE Championship. Commentators speculated that her new contract made Lee the highest paid teenager in the history of MMA, male or female.
On March 11, 2017, Angela Lee defeated Jenny Huang of Taiwan and retained the Atomweight World Championship title. On May 27, 2017, she was successful in her second title defense against Istela Nunes of Brazil.
On November 8, 2017, Chatri Sityodtong announced that Angela Lee was involved in a serious car accident after she fell asleep at the wheel of her car. She managed to survive the incident with a concussion and minor burns. Lee's bout with Mei Yamaguchi that was scheduled for November 24 has been rescheduled to May 18, 2018, at One Championship Unstoppable Dreams in Singapore. Lee won via unanimous decision.
Lee was expected to face reigning strawweight champion Jingnan Xiong at ONE Championship 78: Heart of the Lion on November 9, 2018, in an attempt to become the first female two-division champion in ONE Championship. However, on November 5, 2018, Lee revealed that she was forced off the card due to a back injury. The fight eventually happened on March 31, 2019, at One Championship: A New Era. Lee was via TKO in round 5, which snapped her undefeated streak.
At ONE Championship: Masters of Destiny, Angela Lee suffered another defeat at the hands of Michelle Nicolini, via unanimous decision.
Lee next defended her ONE Atomweight Championship against Xiong Jingnan – whose Strawweight Championship Lee failed to capture – at ONE Championship: Century on October 13, 2019. She won the fight by submission in the fifth round.
Championships and accomplishments
Amateur pankration
- World Pangration Athlima Federation World Championships:
- 2012 Agon (full contact) Girls, 16-17 yrs, 58 kg - Champion.
- 2012 Semi (semi contact) Girls, Juniors, 58 kg - Champion.
Scholastic wrestling
- HHSAA 2013, 121 lbs. girls wrestling champion.
Mixed martial arts
- Amateur Career
- Destiny MMA Women's Strawweight Champion (One time)
- ONE Championship
- ONE Women's Atomweight Champion (One time, current)
- 2016 Fight of the Year vs. Mei Yamaguchi
- WMMA Press Association
- 2015 Newcomer of the Year
- 2015 Submission of the Year
- World MMA Awards
- 2015 Female Fighter of the Year (Nominee)
- MMAJunkie.com
- 2016 May Fight of the Month vs.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 12 matches | 10 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 7 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 10–2 | Xiong Jingnan | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ONE Championship: Century Part 1 | October 13, 2019 | 5 | 4:48 | Tokyo, Japan | Return to Atomweight (115 lbs). Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship. |
| Loss | 9–2 | Michelle Nicolini | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Masters of Destiny | July 12, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia | |
| Loss | 9–1 | Xiong Jingnan | TKO (body kicks and punches) | ONE Championship: A New Era | March 31, 2019 | 5 | 1:37 | Tokyo, Japan | Strawweight debut (125 lbs). For the ONE Women's Strawweight Championship. |
| Win | 9–0 | Mei Yamaguchi | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams | May 18, 2018 | 5 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship |
| Win | 8–0 | Istela Nunes | Submission (anaconda choke) | ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heroes | May 26, 2017 | 2 | 2:18 | Kallang, Singapore | Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship |
| Win | 7–0 | Jenny Huang | TKO (punches) | ONE Championship: Warrior Kingdom | March 11, 2017 | 3 | 3:37 | Bangkok, Thailand | Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship |
| Win | 6–0 | Mei Yamaguchi | Decision (unanimous) | ONE Championship: Ascent to Power | May 6, 2016 | 5 | 5:00 | Kallang, Singapore | Won the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship |
| Win | 5–0 | Rebecca Heintzman | Submission (neck crank) | ONE Championship: Tribe of Warriors | February 20, 2016 | 2 | 1:08 | Jakarta, Indonesia | |
| Win | 4–0 | Lena Tkhorevska | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ONE Championship: Spirit of Champions | Dec 11, 2015 | 2 | 3:26 | Manila, Philippines | |
| Win | 3–0 | Natalie Gonzales Hills | Submission (twister) | ONE Championship: Pride of Lions | Nov 13, 2015 | 1 | 2:24 | Kallang, Singapore | |
| Win | 2–0 | Mona Samir | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ONE Championship: Odyssey of Champions | Sep 27, 2015 | 1 | 3:49 | Jakarta, Indonesia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Aya Saber | Submission (armbar) | ONE Championship: Warrior's Quest | May 22, 2015 | 1 | 1:43 | Kallang, Singapore |