ONE FC star Angela Lee has announced that she is retiring from the sport at 27-years-old, vacating her atomweight title in the process.
The news comes just days after Lee revealed that she has been battling with mental health issues for many years, including having attempted suicide by crashing her car back in 2017. Lee had also confirmed at the time that her younger sister Victoria, a promising up-and-coming MMA fighter, had taken her own life late last year.
“This year has been the hardest year of my life,” Lee told ONE FC fans last night. “I’m doing my best to pick up the pieces and move forward.
“I’m here today to officially announce my retirement. 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 bows out of the sport with an 11-3 record, including five successful defenses of her ONE FC atomweight title. She now intends to focus her energy on her not-for-profit charity Fight Story which she created in honor of her sister Victoria to help people to share their own stories regarding mental health struggles.
