Angela Lee Submits Istela Nunes at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES

“Unstoppable” Angela Lee vowed to remain undefeated, and to successfully defend her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion in front of her Singaporean faithful. On Friday, 26 May, she backed that vow up.

The 20-year-old submitted Brazilian knockout artist Istela Nunes with a second-round anaconda choke in the main event of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

“I was really, really happy to finish with that submission tonight,” she said with a smile. “The anaconda choke is one of my favorites.”

Lee looked comfortable striking on her feet from the start, but smartly worked inside to put herself in position to score takedowns and do damage on the ground, where she truly shone. Both women stormed one another with strikes from free range and in the clinch in the first round. But soon, the action hit the mat.

After forcing the scrap to the floor, where she is most adept, Lee worked out of Nunes’ full guard and into dominant positions, threatening with both strikes and submission attempts. Near the end of the first stanza, the Singaporean had taken her opponent’s back with full control.

Instead of looking for a rear-naked choke, however, Lee figure-four wrapped her legs around Nunes’ left leg, moved the challenger’s right arm behind her own head, and tried for an exotic Twister submission.

The challenger was in big trouble, alternately from both the submission hold and persistent punches thrown by Lee. To the Brazilian’s credit, though, she gamely hung on and survived the round.

Lee kicked off the second frame with a pumping jab and good footwork meant to cut off the cage on Nunes. Once the Singaporean had gotten within reach of her opponent, she snapped on a front headlock with an anaconda choke grip, and scored a takedown with an outside trip.

From there, the Singaporean switched her hips and hooked Nunes’ leg with her own and squeezed the choke. The Brazilian once more held on longer than seemed possible, but after nearly a minute of patient squeezing, Nunes tapped out. The end came 2:18 into the second round.

“Singapore,” she said to the crowd, “I really love you guys and it is an honor for me to fight here every single time. It is an honor for me to be your champion.”

Lee’s record improves to 8-0 with the win. Nunes’ loss was her first, and she now sees her mark drop to 5-1, 1 No Contest.