MMA star Angela Lee returns to training after giving birth, admits she 'felt like throwing up'

One Championship atomweight champ Angela Lee has begun her journey back to fighting after training for the first time since giving birth to her daughter in April.

“Unstoppable” Lee announced her pregnancy with husband and fellow One fighter Bruno Pucci last September, with the 24-year-old originally set to return in November this year.

Asian martial arts promotion One put an eight-woman atomweight grand prix together to determine Lee’s next challenger, with chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong saying stripping Lee of the title would be “unfathomable”. But the tournament has been beset by delays since it was announced last October, and was further postponed last month because of a surge in Covid-19 cases in Singapore.

“Today I was super excited and motivated to get back on the mats but also a little bit nervous!” Lee wrote in an Instagram post, alongside pictures of her training at the family-owned United MMA Hawaii gym. “Like everything I post, I’m going to be completely honest and transparent about my post-partum journey and about making my way back to the cage!”

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CQFE4lXNemR/[/embed]

Lee said she trained with her father and coach Ken Lee, as well as her 16-year-old sister Victoria Lee – who made her ONE debut in March – and 14-year-old brother Adrian.

“They grew so much since the last time we trained together!” she said of her siblings.

“During the warm ups, my whole body felt strange lol I was moving slower, my joints were hurting and I kept thinking, ‘Why does the mat feel so hard?’

“After the warm ups, I felt like throwing up but I didn’t! So, that’s a success! For the rest of the training, we did grappling drills and that was a wrap! The two hours flew by!”

One has not announced a new date for its Empower card, which features the quarter-finals of the grand prix, but there is hope it could be staged in late June or early July, with the Singapore government beginning to ease restrictions again.

“I know that my body is still far from fight shape… When I look in the mirror and I see my squishy belly, I try to give my body grace,” Lee added.

“If I’m honest, it’s pretty hard to do because it’s so easy to focus on and criticise all the things that I don’t like right now… But I gotta remember that this was the body that grew, nourished and protected my baby for nine months! And that is the most amazing thing ever!

“So here is where I’m at. This is my day one. My body may feel like it’s been hit by a truck tomorrow but at least tonight, I have a smile on my face and my baby girl in my arms. She is my ultimate motivation.”

This article was first published in South China Morning Post.