ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee has been forced out of her upcoming title fight because of a car accident.
According to reports out of Hawaii, where Lee is from, she was home visiting her family and traveling to her parents’ gym when she got involved in a car accident. Lee reportedly suffered a concussion and minor burns. It was severe enough to force her out of her planned fight with Mei Yamaguchi, which was set to headline ONE: Immortal Pursuit on Nov. 24 in Singapore.
“ONE Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee got into a terrible car accident yesterday with her car flipping over 5-6x according to the police,” according to a Facebook post by ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong. “She was driving to her morning training at the gym when she fell asleep. Miraculously, she survived with only a concussion, some minor burns, and a banged up body.
“If she was not wearing a seatbelt, it would have most certainly been a different story. I saw photos of the damaged car, and it was a complete wreck. Angela will not be competing on November 24. We are all blessed and relieved that Angela will make a full recovery.”
BREAKING: Hawaii's @angelaleemma was involved in car accident on O'ahu Monday. Family confirms no serious injuries but will postpone #ONEFC Atomweight title defense vs. Mei Yamaguchi which was scheduled for Nov. 24th in Singapore pic.twitter.com/CZOpDo8Ueg
— Rob DeMello (@RobDeMelloKHON) November 8, 2017
Lee and Yamaguchi had met before in May of 2016, where Lee won the inaugural ONE Championship women’s atomweight title. She has since defended it twice.
The Immortal Pursuit fight card also features ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren in his retirement bout against lightweight titleholder Shinya Aoki. With the loss of the Lee vs. Yamaguchi bout, it is likely that Askren vs. Aoki would take the top slot at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
As of the time of publication, ONE Championship officials had not confirmed a new main event or whether a replacement would be sought to try and keep Yamaguchi on the fight card.
