Hawaii mixed martial arts prodigy Victoria Lee dies at 18
www.khon2.com
by: Christian Shimabuku
Posted: Jan 7, 2023 / 11:33 AM HST
Updated: Jan 7, 2023 / 02:29 PM HST
Victoria Lee, a mixed martial arts prodigy and younger sister of current ONE Championship champions Angela and Christian Lee, has died at the age of 18.
Lee’s death, which occurred on Dec. 26, 2022, was announced on Angela Lee’s personal Instagram account on Saturday morning. The cause of death was not disclosed at the time of the announcement.
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As a wrestler at Mililani High School, Lee won an HHSAA championship in the 117-pound weight class in 2020.
She signed her first professional mixed martial arts contract later that year at the age of 16, joining her two older siblings at ONE.
Lee went 3-0 as a professional, winning all three of her fights in 2021. All three fights were finished by Lee using different methods.
Her pro debut was a victory over Sunisa Srisan via rear-naked choke on Feb. 26, 2021. She followed that with an armbar submission over Wang Luping in the first round of a fight that took place on July 30, 2021. Lee then finished off a dominant 2021 with a TKO over Victoria Souza in the second round of a Sept. 24 bout. All three of her ONE fights took place in Singapore.
After not fighting in 2022, Lee was set to take on Zeba Bano on Jan. 14, 2023 at ONE on Prime Video 6 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lee seemed to be on a fast track to MMA stardom, a path that was cultivated by her parents, Ken and Jewelz, as well as siblings Christian, younger brother Adrian, and Angela and her husband, Bruno Pucci, who also competes in ONE Championship.
At her young age, Victoria Lee was considered to be an MMA phenom. She finishes her career undefeated, though it ended far sooner than fans of the sport thought it would.
Angela Lee’s statement is below:
“On December 26, 2022 our family experienced something no family should ever have to go through…
It is incredibly difficult to say this…
Our Victoria passed away.
She has gone too soon and our family has been completely devastated since then.
We miss her. More than anything in this world. Our family will never be the same. Life will never be the same.
Victoria was the most beautiful soul who ever lived. She was the best little sister in the world. The best daughter, the best granddaughter and the best godma / aunty to Ava and Alia.
We miss you so much sis. More than you could ever realize. We’re all broken. Because a piece of you was in each of us and when you left, those pieces were ripped out of us.
We will never be the same.
Each and every little thing makes me think of you. From the sun rays, to the sunset. You taught us to see the beauty in the simple things. You were our bright light. Our sunshine. And that will never change. You were perfect in every way. The best person I knew. The most beautiful girl, inside and out.
We love you Victoria. I love you Sprout. Until the end of time.
.
.
.
Please give our family grace and respect during this most difficult time. And please, check on your loved ones. Keep checking on them. Give them hugs and tell them how much they mean to you. You just never know.”
https://www.khon2.com/sports/hawaii-mixed-martial-arts-prodigy-victoria-lee-dies-at-18/
www.khon2.com
by: Christian Shimabuku
Posted: Jan 7, 2023 / 11:33 AM HST
Updated: Jan 7, 2023 / 02:29 PM HST
Victoria Lee, a mixed martial arts prodigy and younger sister of current ONE Championship champions Angela and Christian Lee, has died at the age of 18.
Lee’s death, which occurred on Dec. 26, 2022, was announced on Angela Lee’s personal Instagram account on Saturday morning. The cause of death was not disclosed at the time of the announcement.
All the latest sports news from Hawaii’s sports station
As a wrestler at Mililani High School, Lee won an HHSAA championship in the 117-pound weight class in 2020.
She signed her first professional mixed martial arts contract later that year at the age of 16, joining her two older siblings at ONE.
Lee went 3-0 as a professional, winning all three of her fights in 2021. All three fights were finished by Lee using different methods.
Her pro debut was a victory over Sunisa Srisan via rear-naked choke on Feb. 26, 2021. She followed that with an armbar submission over Wang Luping in the first round of a fight that took place on July 30, 2021. Lee then finished off a dominant 2021 with a TKO over Victoria Souza in the second round of a Sept. 24 bout. All three of her ONE fights took place in Singapore.
After not fighting in 2022, Lee was set to take on Zeba Bano on Jan. 14, 2023 at ONE on Prime Video 6 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Lee seemed to be on a fast track to MMA stardom, a path that was cultivated by her parents, Ken and Jewelz, as well as siblings Christian, younger brother Adrian, and Angela and her husband, Bruno Pucci, who also competes in ONE Championship.
At her young age, Victoria Lee was considered to be an MMA phenom. She finishes her career undefeated, though it ended far sooner than fans of the sport thought it would.
Angela Lee’s statement is below:
“On December 26, 2022 our family experienced something no family should ever have to go through…
It is incredibly difficult to say this…
Our Victoria passed away.
She has gone too soon and our family has been completely devastated since then.
We miss her. More than anything in this world. Our family will never be the same. Life will never be the same.
Victoria was the most beautiful soul who ever lived. She was the best little sister in the world. The best daughter, the best granddaughter and the best godma / aunty to Ava and Alia.
We miss you so much sis. More than you could ever realize. We’re all broken. Because a piece of you was in each of us and when you left, those pieces were ripped out of us.
We will never be the same.
Each and every little thing makes me think of you. From the sun rays, to the sunset. You taught us to see the beauty in the simple things. You were our bright light. Our sunshine. And that will never change. You were perfect in every way. The best person I knew. The most beautiful girl, inside and out.
We love you Victoria. I love you Sprout. Until the end of time.
.
.
.
Please give our family grace and respect during this most difficult time. And please, check on your loved ones. Keep checking on them. Give them hugs and tell them how much they mean to you. You just never know.”
https://www.khon2.com/sports/hawaii-mixed-martial-arts-prodigy-victoria-lee-dies-at-18/
