MMA News: Angela Lee Silences Critics With Successful Title Defense At ONE X

Despite doubts that her two-year layoff would take a toll on her comeback, Angela Lee proved why she had the gold-plated strap around her waist for nearly six years as “Unstoppable” defeated Thai challenger Stamp Fairtex in the main event of ONE X: Grand Finale on Saturday, March 26.

The 25-year-old Hawaiian secured the victory in the second round, submitting the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix winner with a wrenching rear-naked choke.

However, registering her fifth successful world title defense was not a walk in the park as Lee had to survive an early scare in the opening round as Stamp was able to hurt the champion by driving knees to the midsection.

As Lee’s facial reaction could tell that she was hurt, Stamp stepped on the gas pedal and clobbered striking combinations from different angles.

Lee showed the quality of a champion she is, finding a way to extinguish the aggressiveness of Stamp with her highly-touted grappling.

Once she had Stamp on the mat, Lee was able to recover and made advances to fish for submissions while being in a dominant position.

Heading into the second stanza, Lee knew what she needed to do as once she got out of her corner, the Singaporean-American trusted her wrestling to do the job for her.

After putting Stamp back to the ground for the second time in the bout, Lee threatened with different submission holds—from a triangle choke to the rare twister.

But as Stamp tried to escape the clutches of Lee, the Thai heroine eventually succumbed to the champion’s rear-naked choke with 10 seconds remaining in the second period.

With the impressive performance against Stamp, Lee raised her professional record to 11-2 and claimed her eighth career win by submission.

On the other hand, Stamp fell to an 8-2 standing. The loss also snapped derailed her bid to become the first three-sport world champion in ONE Championship history.