MMA star Angela Lee eyes treats in Singapore
ONE Championship star upbeat over title defence, aims to reward herself with food after May 18 fight
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Angela Lee can't wait for May 18 to come.
The ONE Championship atomweight champion not only savours a title-defence match against Mei Yamaguchi but, out of the ring, she also relishes the thought of rewarding herself - after months of hard work and watching her diet - by going on a food trail in Singapore.
Having trained intensely for the bout, the 21-year-old American, who fights under the Singapore flag for ONE Championship, is looking forward to finally being able to indulge in a whole array of treats.
Lee, who is based in Hawaii, told The New Paper that she has come to Singapore with a list of must-try delicacies.
She said: "One thing I've been doing in my off time is looking up places to eat in Singapore.
"I'm a big dessert fan, I love sweets. In my phone, I have a note on (eating) places to try in Singapore.
One thing I've been doing in my off time is looking up places to eat in Singapore.Atomweight champion Angela Lee, who confesses to be a big dessert fan
"I want to try this place called Burger Joint and overrun (soft serve ice cream), a lot of cakes, French toast. I'm a big breakfast, brunch girl, so a lot of it is all breakfast foods."
Lee was speaking at the launch of the ONE Championship mobile app at Singtel's Comcentre flagship store last Friday, where ONE Championship and the Singtel group announced their collaboration to allow fans in Asia to view live and recorded matches and events on their mobile phones.
The app, available on both iOS and Android platforms, will show ONE's fights live, including the ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on May 18.
Back home, when she is not training, Lee enjoys whipping up her own meals and exploring different recipes in the kitchen.
BAKING BROWNIES
She said: "I have a lot of things that I want to make. I love brownies more than anything. I have all these brownie recipes that I've saved, like brownies with marshmallows, cookie butter or caramel.
"I'll be in the kitchen cooking it up (after the fight)."
But as her fight looms, the foodie has had to exercise tremendous discipline to stay in shape. She has had to closely watch her diet and, sometimes, can only enviously watch as her fiance tucks in without any limitations.
But Lee, who got engaged to fellow MMA fighter Bruno Pucci last October, is grateful for his presence as she gears up for her fight.
She said: "It's been a fairy tale so far. Bruno has been super understanding. I just appreciate having him here because it was so much worse, so much harder before because we were in a long-distance relationship."
The shared passion for martial arts between Lee and her brother Christian is something that she treasures.
The younger Lee will also be fighting at the Unstoppable Dreams event and she is confident that they can become the first MMA brother-sister pair to win world titles on the same fight card.
Being surrounded by a family of fighters, including her father Ken Lee who is her coach, has helped Lee significantly. The support of her family and fiance has been pivotal to Lee's rise in the MMA scene.
She said: "They are the key to my success. They're the people who keep me grounded, it's so important to have a strong support system. To have people that you can count on no matter what, who can always cheer you up when you're down is so important and I'm really grateful to have them."
Lee was a radiant figure ahead of her match against Yamaguchi, whom she defeated in 2016. Their bout was supposed to take place last November, but was postponed after Lee got into a car accident.
On her fight, which is her first in a year, she said: "I'm super excited. It's going to be the biggest show of the year for sure because my brother and I are fighting on the same card, both for world titles.
" I feel excited to be back after a year and just very confident."
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