Angela and Christian have got company! Please welcome IMMAF Junior World Champion Victoria Lee @angelaleemma @ChristianLeeMMA #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/2w406oIem5
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 17, 2020
One Championship loves the Lee family, and the Lee family loves One Championship.
About her signing, Lee put out a statement, where she said, “I feel extremely excited and motivated to be part of the world’s largest martial arts organization, One Championship.” She continued, “Inspired by watching my older brother and sister compete on the biggest global stage of martial arts competition, I am ready to take my career to the next level and compete with the world’s best martial arts athletes. I want to thank my parents for teaching me and guiding me, and for allowing me to chase my dreams. I promise all the fans that I will continue to train hard and develop my skills, and that I’ll be ready when I get the call to step inside the One circle.”
While she has no professional experience, she won a gold medal at the 2019 IMMAF Youth MMA Championships in the 125-pound B division. According to the promotion, she has taken home a pair of Pankration Junior World titles, but due to the frequency of Pankration events it cannot be determined which ones she participated at and won. Per her biography on the United MMA Hawaii team page, she won a USFL National Pankration title in 2019 in California. The USFL lists that there were two competitors in the 123-pound Cadet girls division at U.S. National Championships event on June 22, 2019, and Victoria Lee won a decision over Jayleen Martinez that day.
While One states that she was a 2019 Hawaii State Wrestling champion, that year she placed third at 117 pounds. In 2020, she did win the Hawaii State Wrestling Championship in the 117-pound division. The young prospect has also competed 15 times in the expert category – which requires three years or more of grappling experience – of the North American Grappling Association, likely in the teen divisions due to her age.
Angela Lee was elated at the signing of her sister, writing, “I am so happy for Victoria and extremely proud of her. She is a very gifted and driven young woman. She told us that this is her dream - to be a professional fighter - and as a family, we are going to support her fully. Victoria is a gifted athlete and everyone will be witness to that when she makes her debut. Throughout time, there have been a handful of gifted young Olympians, many years younger than their competitors, but they managed to rise above and shine through with their god-given talent, dedication, and hard work.”
She concluded, stating, “I have confidence in our Coach, our family and in Victoria that she is ready for this next level of competition.”