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Atomweight Queen Angela Lee Reacts To The Division’s Rankings
“Unstoppable” Angela Lee has firmly established herself as the true queen of her division.
Ever since defeating Japanese veteran Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi for the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship in May 2016, the Singaporean has turned away every competitor who’s stepped up to challenge her for the throne.
The 23-year-old remains undefeated in the weight class and is the only mixed martial artist who’s ever held the women’s atomweight gold.
However, there are several highly-ranked contenders who are eager to give Lee her first blemish in the division and take her crown.
Here, “Unstoppable” shares her true thoughts about the five atomweight warriors directly behind her in ONE Championship’s Athlete Rankings.
#1-Ranked Contender Denice Zamboanga
Angela Lee: She is a really good, all-around fighter. [She is] a really good mixed martial artist. I think she mixes it up in the trenches pretty well, and she can pretty much play anywhere.
Judging her last fight with Mei, it was a really smart game plan that her team came up with, and she was able to execute, so I thought that was smart.
She looks like a tough girl, and one of those new breed of mixed martial arts fighters where she can mix it up and pretty much feel comfortable in any range.
#2-Ranked Contender Meng Bo
AL: I only saw one of her fights because she only had one fight in ONE Championship, but it was a nice knockout (against Laura “La Gladiadora” Balin at ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS). I think she did a pull-three, like a pull into a hook. I thought it was impressive.
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#3-Ranked Contender Lin Heqin
AL: I was actually surprised to hear those two fighters (Meng and Lin) were on the top-five list for atomweight contenders. I just thought a few other fighters should be up there because they have had some more bouts and a longer history in ONE. But yeah, you never know!
#4-Ranked Contender Mei Yamaguchi
AL: I think, definitely, Mei deserves to be on the top-five list. She is just a veteran of the sport, she has been doing this for a long time, and she has fought for a World Title and has stayed extremely relevant. She has had a lot of fights and yeah, I think she is totally well-deserving of being in the top five.
#5-Ranked Contender Gina Iniong
AL: I also feel like Gina deserves to be in the top five. I think she has had quite a bit of fights in ONE. [She has had] some ups and downs, but she has stayed relevant, and based on who she has fought most recently, I think it definitely qualifies her for being in the top five.
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