Yahoo Finance Victoria Lee makes winning professional debut with 2nd-round submission
SINGAPORE — Rising mixed martial arts (MMA) talent Victoria Lee made a winning professional debut at ONE Championship's Fists of Fury fight event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday (26 February), defeating Thailand's Sunisa Srisen via submission in the second round of their women's atomweight bout.
The 16-year-old – who is the younger sister of ONE world champions Angela and Christian – came out aggressively, putting the pressure on her opponent early. It didn’t take long before Lee took matters to the ground and tried for a rear-naked choke, which Srisen just barely survived for the round.
It was a similar story in the second round, but this time Lee was successful in getting the fight-ending submission and forcing Srisen to tap.
"I was happy to finish the fight with a win, but I'm always looking to be better, and I can't wait to go back to the gym and worker harder to improve my performance," Lee said after her bout.
"I was so nervous during the walk to the ring, but when I stepped into the cage, I took a deep breath, blocked out everything and focused on what I wanted to do. I'm glad that I left the ring with a victory."
Her dad Ken, who is also her coach, said that he did not feel she was in trouble at any point in the bout.
"Her timing was good, she was accurate with her punches, she had full control of her ground positions," he said after the bout.
"I felt Victoria did well for a debut fight. She finished her bout decisively, but what's more important is that she learns from the experience and continues to improve her game."
In the main event of the night, reigning ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Ilias Ennahachi retained his title with a victory over second-ranked contender Superlek Kiatmoo9, with all three judges scoring the bout in his favour at five hard-fought rounds.
Ennahachi began aggressively, forcing Superlek on the retreat in every exchange. While the Thai muay thai world champion did better with his kicks as the fight progressed, Ennahachi was successful in staving off Superlek's best attacks.
Other results:
Kickboxing – featherweight: Giorgio Petrosyan beats Davit Kiria via unanimous decision
Kickboxing – flyweight: Rodtang Jitmuangnon beats Tagir Khalilov via split decision
Kickboxing – bantamweight: Hiroki Akimoto beats Zhang Chenglong via unanimous decision
Muay Thai – strawweight: Jackie Buntan beats Wondergirl Fairtex via unanimous decision
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Ahead of pro MMA debut, Victoria Lee is unfazed by successes of siblings Angela and Christian
