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Two years and six months after she last fought, Angela Lee made a triumphant return to the cage, defeating Thailand's Stamp Fairtex via rear-naked choke.
In the process, the 25-year-old defended her One Championship atomweight world title.
It took all of two rounds for Lee to earn her comeback victory, piling the pressure on with a series of submission attempts, eventually finding the breakthrough at the very end of the second round.
First fight back from giving birth
The 25-year-old Hawaiian resident had taken a hiatus from fighting and started a family with her husband, Bruno Pucci, a fellow mixed martial artist from Brazil who is also with One Championship.
On April 16, 2021, Lee gave birth to a baby girl, Ava Marie Pucci, who was cradled in her mother's arms during the post-fight in-ring interview.
"Mumma did it for you babygirl," she said.
From left to right: Lee, One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong, and Stamp. Image courtesy of One Championship.
Defeating the rising star
Her opponent, Stamp Fairtex from Thailand, had earned the right to fight for Lee's atomweight world title by winning One's atomweight grand prix tournament.
En route, she'd taken two decision wins, before defeating wrestling-specialist Ritu Phogat by submission in the final.
Stamp, 24, is considered a rising star of the promotion, having won One Championship titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing.
In the lead-up to her fight with Lee, the Thai striker had voiced her ambitions of regaining her titles, and potentially holding One's world titles in Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA.
She has amassed 63 wins, 17 losses, 5 draws record in the stand-up disciplines.
Her MMA record now stands at eight wins, two losses.
With her victory, Lee improves her record to 10 wins, two losses.
Piling on the pressure on the ground
The so-called poster girl of One Championship sported a look of intensity as she made her ring walk, a stark contrast from Stamp, who danced her way to the cage.
Stamp dances to the cage.
Lee began the fight aggressively, stalking her Thai opponent and immediately engaging in a furious exchange.
With Stamp backing up against the cage, Lee used her superior grappling to keep Stamp's strikes at bay.
However, it wasn't long before Stamp caught Lee with a thundering body shot that sent the atomweight champion retreating.
"That body shot hurt, but I can tell you that my contractions I was having when I was in labour hurt more than that," said Lee post-fight.
Image courtesy of One Championship
Lee survived the ensuing barrage and the pair ended the round on the ground with Lee threatening a series of submissions
The second round saw Lee return to her grappling as she quickly scored a takedown.
Stamp fought off Lee's ground game admirably, escaping from a couple of tricky positions.
Yet, the relentless attack proved too much, and with seconds to go in the round, Lee sunk a rear-naked choke that forced the Thai to tap.
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Top image courtesy of One Championship