Create a free account to unlock this article! Get Started Already a subscriber? Log In

Four months on from becoming the youngest person ever to win an MMA world title, Angela Lee has spoken out about the near-crippling nerves she experienced on the night she became the ONE Championship atomweight world champion at just 19 years old.



[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BFFEG6Ry7l-/" hide_caption="0"]



Speaking at ONE Championship’s MMA Summit in Singapore earlier on Thursday, Lee revealed the emotions she went through on the night she won the title when she defeated Mei Yamaguchi.



“All the pressure and all the nerves came crashing down on me,” Lee said. “Backstage when I was preparing with my Dad [Ken Lee] and by brother [Christian Lee], I just couldn’t control it—I was so nervous and so spooked. I was just so spaced out, I think everyone could see as I was walking out because normally I’m just smiling and I’m so happy, but I was just like frozen.



“Before I walked out my Dad was trying to give me some encouragement and I was about to cry. I was just like, oh my gosh, all the doubt about if the fight is supposed to go the way it’s supposed to and what that would be like. It was just a lot [to deal with].”



Lee then revealed the moment in the fight when it all turned around for her, and said that it was when she was knocked to the ground at the start of the third round.



“I think when she caught me really good in the third round, that was like the reset button for me,” Lee said. “I was like, ok, it’s time for business now, I’m in a fight and I have to just forget about all the pressure. That’s what really brought me back—I finished the round strong and then in the fourth and fifth I was feeling better than I did in the first and second rounds.



[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIctiYphnGY/" hide_caption="0"]



“The whole fight was just a whirlwind and I just had to thank Mei for being the opponent that she was and for bringing the best out of me.”



The ONE Championship women’s atomweight champion then revealed the words the two women exchanged after going the distance in ONE’s first ever women’s fight for a title.



“After the fight, I just went up to her and thanked her and I’ll never forget what she told me,” Lee said. “She [Mei] said to me: “look, you’re great. You’re the next big thing in women’s MMA”. That really meant so much to me being the veteran that she is.



[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BFQaOYky7st/" hide_caption="0"]



“I was just overwhelmed and crying so much. We took a picture after the fight and I’m so happy whenever I look at it. On that night, we were able to show and demonstrate real sportsmanship and you don’t really see that these days.”