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Angela Lee
COMLOG WESTPAC at ONE Championship Fight Night (2) (cropped).jpg
Lee in 2022
Born Angela Seung Ju Lee
(1996-07-08) July 8, 1996 (age 28)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Native name 李胜珠 (Li Shengzhu)
이승주 (Lee Seung-ju)
Nickname(s) Unstoppable
Residence Waipahu, Hawaii
Singapore
Nationality American and Canadian
Height 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)
Weight 124 lb (56.2 kg; 8.9 st)
Division Atomweight
Strawweight
Reach 67 in (170 cm)
Style Pankration, Taekwondo, BJJ, Muay Thai, Wrestling
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Tanjong Katong, Singapore
Team Evolve MMA
United MMA
Rank 1st degree black belt in Taekwondo
Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Mike Fowler and Ken Lee
Years active 2015–2023
Mixed martial arts record
Total 14
Wins 11
By knockout 1
By submission 8
By decision 2
Losses 3
By knockout 1
By decision 2
Spouse
Bruno Pucci
(m. 2018)
Notable relatives Christian Lee (brother)
Victoria Lee (sister)
Medal record
Representing  United States
Pankration
WAPF World Pankration Champion
Gold 2012 Laconia, Greece –58 kg (Semi)
Gold 2012 Laconia, Greece –58 kg (Full)
Folkstyle Wrestling
HHSAA Wrestling Circuit
Gold 2013 Hawaii, U.S. –121 lb

Angela Seung Ju Pucci (née Lee, Chinese: 李胜珠, Korean: 이승주, born July 8, 1996), also known as Angela Lee Pucci, is a Canadian-born American former professional mixed martial artist and combat sports mental health advocate. She competed in the atomweight and strawweight divisions of ONE Championship, where she was the inaugural ONE Atomweight World Champion. Undefeated at atomweight, Lee successfully defended the belt five times before vacating the title when she retired from the sport in September 2023. She holds the record for longest-championship reign in ONE history at more than seven years.

On May 5, 2016, Lee became the youngest person to ever win a world title in MMA by defeating Mei Yamaguchi to win the inaugural ONE Atomweight World Championship at 19 years old and 9 months. When her younger brother Christian Lee won the ONE Lightweight World Championship in May 2019, they became the first sister-brother pair of mixed martial arts world champions. Following the death of her younger sister Victoria, Lee announced her retirement from MMA at ONE Fight Night 14 on September 30, 2023.

Background

Lee was born in Vancouver to a Chinese-Singaporean father Ken Lee and a South Korean-born Canadian mother Jewelz Lee. She moved to Hawaii with her family 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 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. 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 armbar in the opening round. She competes under Singapore flags.

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 was 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 90: A New Era. Lee was defeated via TKO in round 5, which snapped her undefeated streak.

At ONE Championship 96: 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 100: Century on October 13, 2019. She won the fight by submission in the fifth round.

After pregnancy leave, Lee returned to defend her Atomweight title against ONE Women's Atomweight Grand Prix winner Stamp Fairtex at ONE 155: X on March 26, 2022. Surviving an early scare in the first round after being hurt by a liver punch, she won the bout via submission in the second round. In April 2022, Fight Matrix ranked Lee the #12 female strawweight (121.9 lbs and below) in the world.

Lee challenged Xiong Jingnan for the ONE Women's Strawweight Championship at ONE on Prime Video 2 on September 30, 2022. She lost the fight by unanimous decision.

At ONE Fight Night 14 on September 30, 2023, Lee announced her retirement from mixed martial arts and vacated the title during the event. Speaking to ESPN, she said, "It's just really tough because my sister was also a fighter, my whole family is fighters, my dad was our coach. And because everything was so, I guess, intertwined and connected that's one of the big factors [why] I'm stepping away, because it's just very difficult to go on." As a result, the interim title bout between Stamp Fairtex and Ham Seo-hee at the event was promoted to be for the vacant title.

Personal life

Lee holds American and Canadian citizenship. She is married to fellow mixed martial artist Bruno Pucci. On October 1, 2020, Lee announced on her social media that she was pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter in April 2021. Both Lee and her husband are head coaches at United BJJ Hawaii, a gym that they founded in 2021. The opening of their gym was delayed by several days as the result of vandalism just prior to the date.

Lee's younger brother Christian is the reigning ONE Lightweight World Champion and ONE Welterweight World Champion. Her youngest sibling, Victoria, made her successful MMA debut at the age of 16 on February 26, 2021. On January 7, 2023, Lee announced on Instagram that Victoria had died on December 26, 2022. The Lees shut down their family-owned MMA training facility in Waipahu, Hawaii, and said it would remain permanently closed.

..... These incidents motivated her to set up a non-profit organisation, Fightstory, putting out podcast and videos on mental health, as well as a programme to help people with their nutrition and physical health.

Championships and accomplishments

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.

Folkstyle wrestling

  • HHSAA Wrestling Circuit
    • 2013, 121 lbs, Girls - Champion.

Mixed martial arts

  • Amateur Career
    • Destiny MMA Women's Strawweight Championship (One time)
  • ONE Championship
    • ONE Women's Atomweight World Championship (One time; inaugural)
      • Five successful title defenses
      • Longest-championship reign in ONE history (2,703 days)
    • Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Stamp Fairtex
    • 2016 Fight of the Year vs. Mei Yamaguchi
    • 2022 MMA Fight of the Year vs. Stamp Fairtex at ONE: X
  • WMMA Press Association
    • 2015 Newcomer of the Year
    • 2015 Submission of the Year vs. Natalie Gonzales Hills
  • World MMA Awards
    • 2018 Comeback of the Year vs. Mei Yamaguchi at ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams
  • MMAJunkie.com
    • 2016 May Fight of the Month vs. Mei Yamaguchi

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
14 matches 11 wins 3 losses
By knockout 1 1
By submission 8 0
By decision 2 2
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 11–3 Xiong Jing Nan Decision (unanimous) ONE on Prime Video 2 October 1, 2022 5 5:00 Kallang, Singapore For the ONE Women's Strawweight Championship (125 lb).
Win 11–2 Stamp Fairtex Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: X March 26, 2022 2 4:50 Kallang, Singapore Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship (115 lb). Performance of the Night. Lee vacated the title on September 30, 2023 due to her retirement.
Win 10–2 Xiong Jing Nan Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Century – Part 1 October 13, 2019 5 4:48 Tokyo, Japan Return to 115 lb. Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship (115 lb).
Loss 9–2 Michelle Nicolini Decision (unanimous) ONE: Masters of Destiny July 12, 2019 3 5:00 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Loss 9–1 Xiong Jing Nan TKO (body kicks and punches) ONE: A New Era March 31, 2019 5 1:37 Tokyo, Japan Strawweight (125 lb) debut. For the ONE Women's Strawweight Championship (125 lb).
Win 9–0 Mei Yamaguchi Decision (unanimous) ONE: Unstoppable Dreams May 18, 2018 5 5:00 Kallang, Singapore Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship (115 lb).
Win 8–0 Istela Nunes Submission (anaconda choke) ONE: Dynasty of Heroes May 26, 2017 2 2:18 Kallang, Singapore Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship (115 lb).
Win 7–0 Jenny Huang TKO (punches) ONE: Warrior Kingdom March 11, 2017 3 3:37 Bangkok, Thailand Defended the ONE Women's Atomweight Championship (115 lb).
Win 6–0 Mei Yamaguchi Decision (unanimous) ONE: Ascent to Power May 6, 2016 5 5:00 Kallang, Singapore Won the inaugural ONE Women's Atomweight Championship (115 lb).
Win 5–0 Rebecca Heintzman Submission (neck crank) ONE: Tribe of Warriors February 20, 2016 2 1:08 Jakarta, Indonesia Catchweight (120 lb) bout.
Win 4–0 Lena Tkhorevska Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Spirit of Champions Dec 11, 2015 2 3:26 Manila, Philippines
Win 3–0 Natalie Gonzales Hills Submission (twister) ONE: Pride of Lions Nov 13, 2015 1 2:24 Kallang, Singapore
Win 2–0 Mona Samir Submission (rear-naked choke) ONE: Odyssey of Champions Sep 27, 2015 1 3:49 Jakarta, Indonesia Catchweight (120 lb) bout.
Win 1–0 Aya Saber Submission (armbar) ONE: Warrior's Quest May 22, 2015 1 1:43 Kallang, Singapore Strawweight debut.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Angela Lee para niños

  • List of ONE Championship champions
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