Angela Lee’s quest to become a double champion at One Championship: Heart Of A Lion has been called off as the fighter has suffered an injury. A bantamweight title unification bout between Bibiano Fernandes and Kevin Belingon has been elevated to the main event.
One CEO Chatri Sityodtong issued the following statement on the matter through Facebook:
”I have made the decision to pull Angela off the card, despite her adamance to compete still in the world title fight against ONE strawweight world champion Jingnan Xiong. We all know that Angela is a warrior with an unbreakable spirit. However, she suffered a serious back injury in training last week and badly herniated a spinal disc; she was unable to walk just a few days ago. Doctors suspect that the injury originally happened last year when Angela’s car flipped five times on the highway in her near-death accident. If it was up to her, she would still compete this week, even if it meant walking into the cage on crutches. In fact, she is still insisting on competing. However, safety is the #1 priority at ONE. On a personal level, I care deeply about the long-term health of our athletes, and would never put our athletes in any compromising situations. Please join me in wishing Angela a speedy recovery to full health!”
There is no word yet on if the fighter will get rescheduled or if the competitors will go their separate ways.
One Championship: Heart Of A Lion is taking place on Friday, November 9 from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore with Bibiano Fernandes and Kevin Belingon headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which streams live on the One App.
