'Unstoppable' Angela Lee balances motherhood and MMA

Angela Seung Ju Lee is the Canadian-American MMA athlete of Singaporean, Chinese and Korean descent who, at the age of 19, became the youngest person ever to win a mixed martial arts world title. After dominating in Pankration before moving into professional MMA, where she is ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion Lee took a temporary break from competition to start a family.

Now, aged 26, Lee is back in action and feeling better than ever since she won her first title seven years ago. Lee spoke with M&F from her home in Hawaii to discuss her origins in martial arts, her approach to health and fitness, and how motherhood has led to greater enlightenment.

“Unstoppable” is a fitting name for a warrior who has been participating in martial arts since the age of 6, but where does the nickname come from? “In high school, as a teenager, on Facebook and Tumblr, I was always looking for inspirational quotes and new wallpapers,” says Lee. "I stumbled upon this picture, it was all black and had the word 'unstoppable' in bold and it caught my eye." Lee spoke to her mentor and father, Ken, and the two agreed that “Unstoppable” would be the perfect nickname for a fighter, and it stuck. After turning 18, she won her first three amateur MMA fights in Hawaii, balancing her mat work with her homework and soon discovering she was more drawn to MMA than math. Lee just wanted to travel, meet other fighters and chase their dreams.

Angela Lee has an unstoppable bond with her family

The parents, Ken and Jewelz Lee, who were themselves martial arts competitors and trainers, had initially passed on their knowledge to Angela and her other siblings ( younger brother Chris now also competes in ONE Championship) as a means of self-defense, but it was clear that the skills ran in the bloodline. “Training was non-negotiable,” says Lee, who remembers that growing up in a family of martial artists meant she had to get things done. "Mom was very organized. Definitely the discipline aspect of martial arts affecting our lives."

The loving and productive relationship with her parents is still evident today, perhaps especially during the ONE Championship title defense, where her father is always on hand with some valuable advice. “It’s definitely a unique bond and relationship that we have,” shares Lee. "Aside from him knowing me my whole life, not only teaching me martial arts, but just growing me into a decent human being, I think we connect on another level because he knows me inside and out, it's great that I can trust that he always has my best interests at heart. I'm very grateful that we've walked this journey together."

Like many female martial artists, Lee, who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiujitsu, often had to compete against boys and later men as female students are still in the minority, but rather than complain, she used this challenging situation to her advantage. “I didn’t care,” she says. "It made me stop making excuses for myself. It made me better and taught me to be smarter and use my skills."

Lee feels the experience has made her tougher and more resilient. "The unstoppable mindset, you know? It doesn't matter if they're bigger, older, whatever. I just go out there and do my thing." These days, Lee is also a Jiu-Jitsu trainer along with her husband Bruno Pucci, and they are keen to bring more women into the sport. “We see boys signing up for the classes and trying them out while their little sisters are there,” says Lee. "Eventually we can bring them in and they have a great time. They love it."

Angela Lee has an unstoppable attitude towards competition

Lee's life in the martial arts has led her to pick up all sorts of different styles. “I did grappling competitions, kickboxing, boxing, judo and then pankration,” Lee says. "With the pankration, because of the way dad taught it to me; to be prepared for a self-defense scenario where the fight could go anywhere, from the feet to the ground, I feel like the pankration translates really well (into MMA) because I felt comfortable hitting the feet and using my judo and wrestling for takedowns, and then of course grappling and jiu-jitsu. Nowadays, everyone's a really well-rounded mixed martial artist Artist, but in the early days of MMA everyone was really stylistic.”

This unstoppable attitude to competition and her character as a well-rounded fighter have led to a storied journey that has seen Lee sign her first contract with ONE Championship in 2014 and submit Aya Saber with an armbar in the opening round of her debut there. She was then victorious in Evolve MMA before returning to ONE Championship and record a number of successes This led her to a unanimous decision win over Mei Yamaguchi in a fight of the year, making her the youngest winner ever at just 19 years old.

In October 2020, Lee entered another exciting phase of her life when she announced that she would be temporarily stepping away from MMA to start a family. In a welcome and progressive move, Lee was not forced to vacate her title, which was seen as an important statement by ONE Championship by giving women the right to be pregnant without having their title revoked. And if ever justification was needed that Lee was a legitimate champion, she made that statement loud and proud when she returned on March 17 to defend the gold against Stamp Fairtex via a second-round submission.

Balancing MMA and motherhood

Did Lee ever doubt she could return after the big milestone of having baby Ava? “In MMA, in martial arts, in sports in general, I really think it’s 90% mental,” Lee says. "This past fight camp, I struggled with it so much. I just wanted to get my confidence back because it had been a while since I got out of the cage. A lot happened in that time, and more than anything it was [about] me just proving to myself, 'Yeah, I still have it,' and not only am I the same, I'm better than before. You could really see my whole mindset from the beginning of camp to the middle of camp to the end of camp, and then when I got to Singapore on fight week, I had no doubt that I knew what I was supposed to do and I knew I could do it.”

In fact, Lee withstood a devastating liver strike and still managed to defeat Fairtex with a rear naked choke to mark her successful return.

“As a first-time mom, I didn’t know what to expect,” Lee says. "What would my body look like after giving birth? How long would it take to get back on track? I tried to research other fighters who were also mothers... but it's different for each person. I gave birth to my daughter in April and it wasn't until about 6 months [when] I really felt like everything was healed and I felt strong. But during the six months I hit the mats and trained, but I had limitations. It was very frustrating for me because before my "After defending my title for the fourth time during pregnancy, I'm so glad I didn't push things too fast and rush things because there was a very high chance I could have gotten injured and pushed [my progress] back many months."

Thanks a Combination of stretching and light training, eventually followed by strength conditioning, Lee began to gain confidence in her ability to pick up where she left off. “As soon as I gave birth, I was already planning my comeback,” says Lee. But how has caring for a baby changed Lee's life and work? “Today I train in the morning,” she says. "Then I have a break and can take care of my daughter all day. I'm really just enjoying this time with her, being a full-time mom, and I love watching her grow." And when it's time to go to work, little Ava, who just turned 1 and is starting to walk, is still nearby. "Other professional fighters look at me and say 'You're crazy' for bringing your daughter to fight week, but luckily she's great. She can travel really well and sleep through the night. It's so different being a mother now, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!" There is no doubt that Ava has a very inspiring mother to look up to.

Angela Lee now says she is excited to get back in the cage once she has won and defended her championship and also has her eyes on Xiong Jing Nan's strawweight gold. Meanwhile, ONE Championship continues to grow from strength to strength with the recent announcement that they have signed a multi-year deal to provide live coverage for streaming on Prime Video later this year.

Before that, ONE Championship's next show on May 20 will feature a Muay Thai Featherweight Championship bout between Petchmorakot Petchyindee and Jimmy Vienot. Further information can be found at: https://www.onefc.com/.

ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot airs on Friday, May 20th with the main card starting at 4:30 a.m. ET, followed by the main card at 8:30 a.m. ET watch.onefc.com.