These Siblings Are Dominating Asian MMA
Like Serena and Venus Williams, two siblings have been dominating MMA in Asia. Angela and Christian Lee are both champions at ONE FC, an MMA organization and one of the largest MMA organizations in the world. Here’s a look at their story and how they became champions.
Growing up fighting
Fighting was in their blood growing up, and as The Sun mentioned, training in martial arts was something that their parents demanded of them at an early age. The two have been training in various martial arts since they were 6 years old.
The two would not only train, but they’d also train with each other. According to The Sun, Angela Lee, who’s two years older than Christian Lee, would beat her brother whenever they trained together up until he hit puberty.
After that though, they’d work on each other’s skills rather than try to see who was stronger. Both siblings became great Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters, and they both use their skills in that martial art to submit their opponents.
It didn’t take long for Angela Lee to fight professionally after years of training. She dropped out of college at the age of 19 and started fighting at ONE FC, according to The Sun. There, she quickly made a name for herself by submitting five women in a row. Anytime she fought, her brother was in her corner, supporting her and giving her advice. She did the same for him.
She’d win her next fight and become the atomweight champion of ONE FC at the age of 20.
Setbacks for the siblings
Christian Lee debuted about a year after his sister did and like she, he blazed through ONE FC early. After winning five fights, three by knockout and two by submission, Christian Lee lost his first fight after being submitted by Martin Nguyen. Christian Lee would win four more fights before he was given a chance to fight Nguyen again, this time for the title.
He’d lose this fight by a five-round decision. On top of that, in his very next fight, he was disqualified after using an illegal move. These setbacks weren’t just hitting him, though, his sister was also feeling some setbacks this time.
Although Angela Lee successfully defended her belt three times, she decided to move up in weight and try to become the first two-weight champion of ONE FC. She faced Xiong Jingnan for the strawweight title and, in an upset, Angela Lee was knocked out in the fifth round of the fight. This was her first loss in MMA.
MMA champs
Things bounced back for the two not long after. Christian Lee racked up a couple of knockouts and that gave him a title shot against Shinya Aoki. Christian Lee knocked Aoki out in the second round and that crowned him as the lightweight champion of ONE FC.
Angela Lee rematched against Jingnan, this time at atomweight and after being dominated for five rounds, Angela Lee managed to submit Jingnan in the fifth round of their fight. With their wins, Angela and Christian Lee have become the world’s first sibling MMA champions.
They’re both very young fighters, as Angela Lee is 23 years old and Christian Lee is 21 years old. Because of that, their futures are bright and there are a lot of possible fights for them at ONE FC.
For example, Eddie Alvarez, the former lightweight champion of the UFC, competes in the same weight class as Christian Lee does. The two are likely going to fight each other eventually.
For Angela Lee, although she’s said in the past that she doesn’t want to join the UFC, she may reconsider if she continues winning at ONE FC. The UFC has a lot of women who’d be a match for her, so she may eventually join the UFC in due time.
