Angela “Unstoppable” Lee, 19, became ONE Championship’s first female champion with a fiercely contested unanimous-decision win over Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi in front of Lee’s adopted home crowd at the main event in Singapore on Friday night.
In the co-main event, Brazil’s Roger Gracie choked out Poland’s Michal Pasternak in the first round to win ONE’s inaugural light-heavyweight title.
The 33-year-old Yamaguchi gave up a significant height and reach advantage, but nevertheless went into the fight planning to test the standup game of Lee, a dual citizen Canadian-American of Singaporean and South Korean heritage who had won all of her previous fights by submission.
Photo: AFP
However, Lee got the best of the early exchanges before clinching Yamaguchi against the cage, where the Japanese fighter landed knees to the body. Yamaguchi scored the first takedown after catching a high kick by Lee, but Lee instantly engineered a reversal to take top position. Yamaguchi struggled to her feet, but Lee slipped in a standing guillotine, then dropped into guard and secured a body-triangle. Yamaguchi appeared on the verge of tapping, but survived the choke attempt and escaped into half-guard to finish the round.
In round two, Lee landed a sharp one-two, which Yamaguchi answered with a head kick and an overhand right. Lee took Yamaguchi down, but this time it was Yamaguchi who reversed to take top.
However, Lee is a dangerous fighter on her back and attempted an arm-bar that again threatened to finish the fight, until Yamaguchi managed to stand and shake Lee off. The scenario repeated itself, with Yamaguchi again taking top after a takedown by Lee and escaping another arm-bar attempt by standing and shaking Lee off. Yamaguchi employed ground-and-pound before attempting a guillotine to finish the round.
Photo: AFP
A tumultuous, back-and-forth third frame began with Yamaguchi dropping Lee to the canvas with a thudding overhand right and leaping in to finish her with ground-and-pound in Lee’s guard. Lee weathered the initial onslaught, then kept Yamaguchi tight to neutralize her punches.
However, Yamaguchi took side control, then took full mount and rained down punches before taking a deep arm-bar. Lee escaped the submission attempt and seized full mount in a stunning reversal. Lee attempted a choke, but Yamaguchi reversed and sank another arm-bar. Lee escaped and sank an an arm triangle choke, which a breathless Yamaguchi survived to see out the round.
Lee began to take control of the fight in the championship rounds, keeping the action on the ground in the fourth round, in which a spirited Yamaguchi survived submission attempt after submission attempt.
By the fifth, Yamaguchi was clearly fatigued. The fighters initiated some furious exchanges, but Lee controlled the action on the ground, attempting numerous submission attempts, which Yamaguchi, who has never been submitted or knocked out in her career, survived.
Lee was overcome with emotion as the decision was announced and she took the ONE female atomweight title.
“I told you guys, I was born for this,” she said with tears streaming from her eyes.
The win improved Lee’s record to 6-0-0, while Yamaguchi’s fell to 15-9-1.
In a battle of former champions on the undercard, Mongolia’s Narantunglag Jadambaa choked out Japan’s Kotetsu Boku in the third.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care