MMA in shock over death of Victoria Lee, Angela's younger sister
SINGAPORE — The mixed martial arts community received the stunning news on Sunday (8 January) that 18-year-old rising star Victoria Lee - younger sister of Angela - died on Boxing Day last year.
Her cause of death has not been made public.
Angela, the reigning ONE Championship atomweight champion, put up a post eulogising her sister on her Instagram page, following the public announcement of her death by the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Kaneohe, Hawaii, on Friday.
"On 26 December, our family experienced something no family should ever have to go through. It is incredibly difficult to say this... our Victoria passed away," she wrote in the post
"She has gone too soon and our family has been completely devastated since then. We miss her. More than anything in this world. Our family will never be the same. Life will never be the same.
"We miss you so much sis. More than you could ever realise. We're all broken. Because a piece of you was in each of us and when you left, those pieces were ripped out of us. We will never be the same."
Three wins to begin her professional MMA career
Victoria was slated to compete in her fourth professional MMA fight, against India's Zeba Bano, at the ONE on Prime Video 6 event in Bangkok on Saturday (14 January).
She made her professional debut on 26 February 2021 at ONE's Fist of Fury event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, following the footsteps of her siblings Angela, 26, and Christian, 24. She duly defeated Thailand's Sunisa Srisen via submission in the second round of their women's atomweight bout.
Since then, she has won two more bouts, amassing a 3-0 win-loss record in her professional career. ONE's chief executive Chatri Sityodtong had once labelled her as having the potential to be the next pound-for-pound greatest female MMA fighter on the planet.
"Each and every little thing makes me think of you," Angela wrote in her Instagram post.
"Please give our family grace and respect during this most difficult time. And please, check on your loved ones. Keep checking on them. Give them hugs and tell them how much they mean to you. You just never know."
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