SINGAPORE - One Championship's atomweight world champion Angela Lee has withdrawn from the mixed martial arts organisation's event on Friday (Nov 9) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, its chairman and chief executive officer Chatri Sityodtong announced in a Facebook post on Monday.

Lee, 22, was due to face China's Xiong Jing Nan for the women's strawweight title at the Heart of the Lion event, but "suffered a serious back injury while putting the final touches on her training camp last week", according to an article on One's website.

The Singapore-based organisation's medical staff then deemed her unfit to compete, with Chatri making the final decision.

He said: "I am bummed to announce that our medical team has deemed Angela Lee unfit to compete at One: Heart of the Lion this Friday... She suffered a serious back injury in training last week and badly herniated a spinal disc; she was unable to walk just a few days ago.

"Doctors suspect that the injury originally happened last year when Angela's car flipped five times on the highway in her near-death accident. If it was up to her, she would still compete this week, even if it meant walking into the cage on crutches. In fact, she is still insisting on competing."

Lee also had to pull out of the Singapore fight night in November 2017, after she crashed her car before dawn in Hawaii. But she returned to the cage in May this year and successfully defended her title at the Indoor Stadium against Japan's Mei Yamaguchi.

For Friday's event, One bantamweight champion Bibiano Fernandes' unification rematch with One interim bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon will now be the main event for the blockbuster event.

In addition, a new co-main event has been added to the card. Christian Lee will take on Kazuki Tokudome in a 73kg catchweight bout, with both athletes stepping in on short notice.