Lee is the 1st 'mum champ' of One C'ship

One Championship's mixed martial arts (MMA) star Angela Lee hardly missed a beat in her return to action after almost 21/2 years, retaining her atomweight world title with a typically dominant submission victory.

She submitted Stamp Fairtex of Thailand with 10 seconds left in the second round of their five-round bout, which capped One's extravaganza "X" event at the Indoor Stadium last night.

Lee, 25, last stepped into the cage in October 2019 and during her time out of it, became a mother to daughter Ava Marie, who was born in April last year.

As the confetti rained down from above after her win, Lee's husband Bruno Pucci brought their child into the cage.

"This right here," said Lee, looking into her baby's eyes as she cradled her, "is a dream come true for me. I wanted to be a world champion, and I accomplished that in 2016.

"Today, I became the first-ever 'mum champ' in One Championship," she added, as her voice trembled.

Lee, perhaps eager to make up for lost time, came out aggressively in the bout but was then rocked midway through the first round by a body shot from Stamp.

And while it made her retreat, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt managed to sweep her Thai rival to the ground.

There, she was in her element, controlling the remainder of the round and starting the second in the same fashion.

She sank in her third submission attempt - a rear-naked choke - which forced her rival to tap.

Referring to her struggles in the first round, Lee quipped: "I've got to tell you, that body shot hurt. But the contractions I had during labour hurt more than that."

Oohs and aahs reverberated throughout the arena last night as knees flew and fists connected with flesh, and One hosted its largest crowd since the pandemic.

As the National Stadium next door welcomed nearly 15,000 fans for Singapore's 2-1 win over Malaysia in a friendly football match, One X had an estimated 5,000-plus spectators.

Billed as one of the organisation's biggest events in its 10-year history, One X had 20 fights and included a special rules bout between former Ultimate Fighting Championship champion Demetrious Johnson and muay thai star Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

Johnson, 35, matched Rodtang by navigating a first-round contested with a muay thai rule set - which features more striking - before taking advantage of an MMA rule set in the second round to take the 24-year-old Thai to the mat and submit him with a rear-naked choke.