Split image of Ham Seo Hee (left) and Angela Lee.
A
ngela “Unstoppable” Lee once again defended her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship title with a dominant show against Stamp Fairtex at ONE X in March.
The longtime ONE Championship divisional queen pushed the Thai star to her limits in their main event bout, taking her to the ground where she controlled the action before slipping on a rear-naked choke to secure the victory at the end of the second round.
Now, Lee is on the hunt for her next opponent, and she believes number two ranked atomweight Ham “Hamzzang” Seo Hee is a worthy contender.
While Unstoppable was the talk of much of the event as the headliner, South Korean veteran Hamzzang put on an impressive performance earlier in the evening. Ham faced Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga in a rematch to prove that the decision to declare her the winner in their previous bout this past September was the right call.
The two literally went head-to-head, with the Lycan Queen landing a hook to Ham’s temple early in the bout. However, Hamzzang became even more fired up from there, and she took the Filipina star to the mat before dishing out ground-and-pound that her opponent struggled to avoid.
The unanimous decision win pushed the South Korean veteran to the number two spot in the atomweight rankings, right behind Stamp, and arguably puts her next in line for a chance at the gold.
Read also: Bokang Masunyane’s unblemished MMA journey started in a South African orphanage
In an interview after her fight at ONE X, Lee stated that she believed Ham deserved an opportunity to fight for the world title and said that she would be eager to face her.
Hamzzang responded enthusiastically.
“Thank you for the kind words. You’re a great champion, and I respect you a lot. See you very soon,” she said via Instagram.
While Lee has been dominant as the atomweight world champion, Ham could provide a real challenge with her experience and kickboxing skills. Hamzzang may also have an answer for Unstoppable’s seemingly bulletproof ground game.
Ham is widely touted as a trailblazer for female MMA fighters in Asia. Since making her debut in February 2007, she has amassed a professional record of 25-8 and is currently riding an eight-fight win streak
There has been no official announcement as of yet, but stay tuned for more news about ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic, which goes down on Friday, 22 April, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Watch ONE: Eersel vs. Sadikovic on April 22 at ONE Super App and subscribe to ONE Championship on YouTube!
This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship