ONE Championship: Angela Lee’s moving message for sister Victoria – ‘I wasn’t ready to say goodbye’

• 'I would give anything for just one more day, just one more second,' Lee writes, quoting a writing by Bryan Anthonys
• 'Forever in my mind. Forever in my heart. I will carry you,' she adds following death of younger sister at 18 years old

Angela Lee has posted another moving tribute to her sister Victoria Lee, who died on Boxing Day aged 18.

The ONE Championship atomweight champion confirmed her younger singling's death in Hawaii in an emotional Instagram post on January 7, saying "please check on your loved ones".

Victoria, who went 3-0 in her brief MMA career, was set to return at January 14's ONE Fight Night 6 card in Bangkok, Thailand, after 15 months out of action.

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"Sometimes in life there are losses. Losses that can never really be replaced," Angela wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday, quoting a writing by Bryan Anthonys titled Always In My Heart.

"Losing you has been the hardest thing I've ever had to live with. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. I wasn't ready to let you leave. I would give anything for just one more day, just one more second.

"But I've learned to trust in unconditional love. Because the one profound thing about death is that love never dies. Some bonds cannot be broken. Because even though you're not physically here, your heart is - it lives on within me.

"I carry your heart inside mine. I carry it on days when I discover something new. I carry it on days when beauty unfolds in the most unexpected places. I carry it on days when I find courage to heal and to grow. I carry it with me - always."

Angela Lee says 'stop the conspiracy theories' after Victoria's death

ONE honoured Victoria's memory at their most recent Prime Video event at Impact Arena in the Thai capital with a video tribute and a minute's silence, before CEO and chairman Chatri Sityodtong addressed the crowd in a moving speech.

Chatri later told the Post that, going forward, January 14 would be celebrated as "Victoria Lee Day in ONE forever".

"Someday we will meet again - and we will no longer be separated by time or space. But until that day, I'll find comfort in knowing that you are still with me. Your heart safely tucked inside mine," Lee continued in her post, quoting Anthonys.

"Some hearts just belong together and nothing will ever change that. I loved you then. I love you now. Always did. Always will.

"Forever in my mind. Forever in my heart. I will carry you."

© Provided by South China Morning Post Angela Lee surprises her sister Victoria with a ONE Championship-themed cake after the 16-year-old's debut win upon returning home to Hawaii. Photo: Instagram/@angelaleemma

In another post this month, the 26-year-old Angela Lee wrote "stop hiring private investigators, stop the conspiracy theories", revealing that her family had switched Victoria's celebration of life to a closed event after a "media outbreak".

Another Lee sibling, 24-year-old Christian Lee, also fights in ONE, where he is a two-division MMA champion at lightweight and welterweight.

Their younger brother, 17-year-old Adrian, won an amateur MMA title in Hawaii just days before Victoria's death. Victoria had written she was "so proud of my little bro" in her final Instagram post.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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