Vancouver-born MMA fighter Angela Lee returns after November car crash

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2015, file photo, mixed martial arts fighter Angela Lee poses wearing a Santa hat, following a weigh-in ceremony for her One Championship bout, at the Mall of Asia Arena at suburban Pasay city south of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

Sidelined by a car crash in November, Vancouver-born MMA fighter (Unstoppable) Angela Lee will defend her One Championship atomweight title against Japan's Mei (V.V) Yamaguchi in May in Singapore.

The "One: Unstoppable Dreams" card on May 18 at Singapore Indoor Stadium will mark Lee's first fight since May 26, 2017. The 35-year-old Yamaguchi has fought twice since then, winning both times.

"Angela's back in full force, already in training camp," said One Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Lee's car accident occurred Nov. 6 in Hawaii when she left her home at around 4:30 a.m. to drive to her nearby gym. The 21-year-old dozed off and hit the guardrail before flipping over some six times.

"I am so grateful that no one else was hurt," she wrote four days later on social media. "It's also a miracle that I'm still here today, alive and well."

Lee (8-0-0) escaped serious injury, saying the majority of her time spent healing would be "focused more on my emotional and spiritual state of mind."

The accident scrapped a Nov. 24 fight against the 35-year-old Yamaguchi (17-10-1), whom Lee had beaten in 2016 to win the Asia-based MMA promoters first female title. The atomweight division covers 105 to 115 pounds.

"It's been a while for me," Lee, speaking on a conference call, said of her fight hiatus. "But I really feel like this time off from training, from fighting has really given me a renewed outlook on everything. It's really reignited my passion for martial arts.

"I'm being honest. There's been many ups and downs in the past year. But with the support of my family, I've managed to overcome all of these adversities and I'm looking forward to a great night on May 18."

Yamaguchi lasted five rounds with Lee the first time out before losing a unanimous decision.

"It's been two years," the Japanese veteran said. "Both of us had a lot of time to learn and improve."

Both fighters have been elevated to black belt status in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since their first meeting.

Lee attended the Nov. 24 card in Singapore and spent most of the Christmas break with her family. She returned to training in January.

"That's when I began to remember why I love martial arts and why I love training in the first place. I just had fun with it. There was no stress of an upcoming fight any time soon. And slowly, slowly things went back to normal.

"Now it's March already and I feel 100 per cent back to normal. I think mentally that was the biggest step I needed to overcome. So I'm feeling great now and there are no issues."

Lee, who divides her time between the Hawaiian island of Oahu and Singapore, comes from a fighting family. Father Ken and mother Jewelz are decorated martial artists who teach at their United MMA gym in Waipahu, Hawaii, where Angela and 19-year-old brother Christian, who also fights in the One Championship, are instructors.

Ken was born in Singapore and Jewelz in South Korea. She moved to Hawaii at a young age while he came to Canada at the age of four. They met in Hawaii when Ken went there for high school, moving to Canada after graduation and eventually marrying.

Angela lived in Vancouver and elsewhere in Canada until she was seven, when the family returned to Hawaii. Angela, who has dual Canadian-American citizenship, graduated from high school in 2014.