Angela Lee stunned the mixed martial arts world when she announced her retirement from the sport and vacated the ONE Championship atomweight title at ONE Fight Night 14 on September 30, 2023.
It was a difficult and very personal decision for Lee, who had lost her younger sister Victoria less than a year prior. Victoria, who was a rising undefeated MMA fighter known as “The Prodigy,” died at 18 by suicide.
Now that she is retired, Lee has launched her non-profit Fight Story in honor of her younger sister and to provide mental health services to combat sports athletes.
“I wouldn’t say that I have fully recovered [from my sister’s death] because healing processes take some time,” Lee told TMZ Sports, “but I have gotten a lot better with the help and support of my husband, my daughter, and also with the nonprofit organization I created in honor of her.
“We’re hoping to acknowledge our past and our personal experience but also take steps to proactively take care of our mental health [and] physical health.”
The 27-year-old Lee, who was 11-3 during her professional career, had previously revealed that she attempted to take her own life by intentionally crashing her car back in 2017.
“I think with Fight Story, we have lots of plans for the programs that we wish to implement and bring to the community,” Lee said. “I feel whenever I’m doing things with Fight Story, I really feel like Victoria is with me and helping me to work on this. Something we’re doing together.”
Through Fight Story, Lee will be putting out podcasts and other videos on mental health, while also helping people with nutrition and physical health.
“We all have a story to tell. These stories are like chapters in a book of which is our life. The good, the bad, the ups, the downs, the struggles, the triumphs. It is all part of the journey and it all leads you to where you’re destined to be. You are the author of your own book. You control the narrative. Keep writing, the best is yet to come,” Lee says in the non-profit’s mission statement.
“Our struggle is our strength. Life is a Fight & We Are Fighters.”
