Mililani’s Angela and Christian Lee both had their title fights decided by the judges on Friday.
The siblings — who entered the fight card aiming to become the first sister-brother combo to hold ONE Championship titles — came away with split results, with Angela retaining the women’s atomweight title while Christian fell short in his bid for the featherweight belt.
Angela Lee returned from a nearly year-long break for a rematch with Japan’s Mei Yamaguchi to cap ONE: Unstoppable Dreams at Singapore Indoor Stadium. As in their first meeting, Lee (9-0) survived a five-round battle and emerged with a unanimous decision in her third defense of the title she won in her 2016 duel with Yamaguchi (17-11-1).
Their rematch was originally scheduled for last November, but was postponed after Lee was involved in a car accident on Oahu.
“It feels amazing to be back. … It’s been quite a long journey to get back here,” Lee told the crowd in her post-fight interview. “Tonight was a huge night for my family regardless of the outcome.”
Lee, 21, appeared emotional as she entered the cage for her first fight since defeating Istela Nunes de Souza on May 26, 2017. She threatened to end the fight in the third round with a rear-naked choke, but Yamaguchi was saved by the bell. Yamaguchi, who has never been stopped in her career, knocked Lee down with a right hand in the fourth round and scored a takedown early in the fifth. Lee managed to hang on and all three judges scored the match in her favor.
“I couldn’t get the finish tonight because Mei is an incredibly tough opponent. She’s very skilled and has a ton of experience,” Lee said in the cage with a Singapore flag draped over her shoulders.
Two bouts earlier, Lee was in her brother’s corner for Christian’s matchup with Martin Nguyen for the featherweight title. Christian Lee also went the distance, but Nguyen — who also holds the lightweight title — won a split decision to remain the division champion.
Christian Lee, 19, fell to 9-2, with both losses coming against Nguyen.
Nguyen (11-2) won their first meeting by technical submission in the first round in August 2016, but Lee got off to a strong with a takedown early in the rematch. Nguyen turned the bout in his favor and ended Lee’s four-match winning streak.
After the decision was announced, Nguyen expressed frustration at not finishing against Lee, who became the second fighter to go the distance against the 29-year-old. The bout also marked the first time Lee had a fight go past the third round.