The dazzling rise of Asian mixed martial arts superstar Angela “Unstoppable” Lee continued when she won the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship title over Brazilian Istela Nunes in the main event of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES recently.
The title win fashioned out before a roaring crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium was Lee’s second straight – thanks to her well-rounded offense.
Lee stifled Nunes with accurate striking and a smooth grappling game, eventually submitting the two-time Muay Thai world champion via anaconda choke in the second round.
Lee may have made it look like an easy night against Nunes, but there were extra challenges than simply overcoming a tough opponent.
After getting the tap from Nunes, the 20-year-old Singaporean sensation dropped to her knees in the middle of the cage and broke down in tears.
It may have seemed at first that Lee was simply overjoyed at securing the win, but it turns out that the champion had to overcome a severe bout of pneumonia before even stepping into the ONE Championship cage.
Ten days before the bout, Lee had been battling illness as she had been diagnosed with a bad case of pneumonia.
“There were a lot of things that happened leading up to the fight, a lot of unexpected things that I didn’t have control of. I actually got pretty sick leading up to the fight. I was on antibiotics and stuff so I was fighting through that. It was just a very tough battle with myself, overcoming my own doubt,” Lee shared.
