Angela Lee Tears Through Jenny Huang In First Title Defense
The main event of ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM was an absolute blast, as “Unstoppable” Angela Lee was able to retain the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship with a victory over judo black belt Jenny Huang on Saturday Night, 11 March.
Everyone at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, was treated to a fast-paced headlining contest. The 20-year-old Lee pushed forward from the first minute, and landed some powerful kicks and straight punches that had the Tianjin Top Team recruit backpedalling. The reach advantage of the Evolve MMA heroine let her dictate the distance, and her strikes seemingly connected at will.
With just under two minutes remaining in the first round, Lee landed a stunning left hook and followed up with a blistering flurry. Huang displayed her grit, as she held on and continued counter punching, but the champ finished the opening stanza strongly with precision striking,
The second frame started with Huang missing a spinning back fist. That allowed Lee to take the center of the cage and pour on the pressure. The “Unstoppable” one moved forward and landed another stady stream of kicks, knees, and punches. Much like round one, she showed her improved striking game and landed a veritable onslaught.
For the first time in the fight, the ladies touched gloves to start round three. Huang, the first professional female mixed martial artist out of Chinese Taipei, continue to throw counter strikes, but they came at the cost of powerful blows from Lee. Despite being used as target practice, Huang showed unbelievable determination to remain standing with Lee.
The Evolve MMA fighter decided to abandon the stand-up battle and took the bout to the canvas with nearly two and a half minutes left. Lee went to work, took the back of a flattened-out Huang, and teed off with ground and pound from the back mount.
After several unanswered shots, the referee was forced to step in and stop the punishment at 3:37 of the third round due to strikes.
Lee, the youngest champion in MMA history, was successful in her first title defense. She remains undefeated, advances her unblemished record to 7-0, and proves she is a force to be reckoned with in the atomweight division.
Though Huang suffers her first career loss and drops to 5-1, she showed a tremendous amount of heart, and could get a title rematch if she earns a few more wins.
