With a nickname like “The Prodigy” (shared with UFC legend B.J. Penn, among others), certain expectations have been placed on Victoria Lee. The teenager, who made her professional debut in the ONE circle earlier this year at just 16, is the younger sister of ONE Championship title holders Christian and Angela Lee.
Gold is seen as a given in her future. The Lee family name almost requires it. But as atomweight Victoria looked to blaze her own path in MMA, it was crucial to remember the pressure being placed on a fighter still not old enough to drink.
She didn’t show that pressure Friday at ONE Championship’s Battleground card, mind you. In her second professional fight, Lee fought with a sense of urgency often seen in her more experienced siblings. Opponent Wang Lu Ping took the fight down early, but after the pair quickly returned to their feet, it was Lee with a powerful bodylock takedown.
From there, Lee never really let up. She got on top, and Wang gave up her back almost immediately. While Lee had just one hook in initially, soon enough, she had the second in place. The teenager — who turned 17 between her debut and the Battleground card — then went to work on a rear-naked choke while her opponent fought hands, then rolled to her back. That left Lee in mount. Another roll, and Wang had given up her back again.
Throughout the fight, Lee was heavy on top, and the end came with her mixing in a bit of ground n’ pound before transitioning to a mounted triangle. That allowed Lee to drop elbows on the exposed forehead of Wang Lu Ping. The Chinese fighter’s arm, meanwhile, looked like a sitting duck, and once Victoria Lee took hold of it, the finish was a given.
At 17 years old, in her second professional MMA fight, Victoria Lee earned her second stoppage victory. She might not be fighting world-beaters just yet, but Lee is exactly where she needs to be early on in her career. As for the pressure? At Battleground, at least, it didn’t seem to show.
Official Result: Victoria Lee def. Wang Lu Ping by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:22
