Angela Lee's ready for the fight of her life

Singapore

IT is arguably the most hyped and most talked-about mixed martial arts (MMA) fight in Asia, and history will be made this Friday night in Singapore as fans will witness the crowning of Asia's first female MMA world champion.

The main event of One Championship's "Ascent to Power" event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium will feature the undefeated teenager Angela Lee against Mei Yamaguchi, a veteran 14 years her senior, for the new atomweight women's title.

On the surface, Ms Lee, a 19-year-old of Singaporean-Korean ethnicity, isn't too bothered by the incessant glare of the world's media on her as she prepares for the biggest fight of her life.

She has won all five of her previous bouts to date by submission, and doesn't mind how she gets the job done - so long as the referee raises her arm in victory at the end.

She told reporters over lunch at a Clarke Quay restaurant on Tuesday: "I'm just going to try and finish this fight as soon as possible, whether by submission, knockout or TKO (technical knockout). I'm 100 per cent focused to make weight and getting ready to fight."

Competitors in the atomweight division must weigh between 47.7kg and 52.2kg. One Championship takes their weight daily in the week leading up to the bout, and up to three hours prior to the start of the event.

Her opponent, Ms Yamaguchi of Japan, boasts a record of 15 wins, eight losses and a draw. The Tokyo-born star, who picked up karate at the age of six, made her professional MMA debut in 2007.

While Ms Lee might be the more inexperienced fighter on paper, she said she is focused on her goal of defeating Ms Yamaguchi in front of her home crowd in Kallang.

Ms Lee, nicknamed "Unstoppable", said with a laugh: "I think everyone loves a good girl fight. It'll be a pretty big draw, you know?"

Victor Cui, the chief executive of Singapore-based One Championship, hailed the clash as "one of the most game-changing" championship matches in Asian MMA.

"It's a phenomenal match to top our fight card, and it really shows where the sport has gone and how much it has achieved," he said.

In the other big battle on Friday, Brazil's Roger Gracie takes on the unbeaten Michal Pasternak of Poland for the inaugural light-heavyweight world championship.

Another Singaporean MMA star, Benedict Ang, will try to win his third match in the cage when he faces Jimmy Yabo of the Philippines.

Separately, Casio Singapore announced on Tuesday that its popular G-Shock line of watches will be the official timekeeper for this Friday's event; it is its third consecutive tie-up with One Championship.

Bernard Teng, the country sales manager of Casio Singapore, told The Business Times that the company was looking for a partner in the sports industry and wanted to try something different.

"There's something special about a sports event that can bring a high level of excitement to the public. MMA in Singapore is growing and capturing a lot of attention, and that's why we decided to do this," he said.

As at press time on Wednesday, a limited number of S$58 and S$138 tickets were still available for "Ascent to Power".

Visit sportshubtix.com for more information.