ONE Championship: Angela Lee responds to UFC’s Istela Nunes – ‘I’m pretty confident she was also using steroids when we fought’
- ONE atomweight champ hits back after Brazilian claimed she missed weight for their 2017 title fight in Singapore
- ‘She was just trying to stir up some hype and make up whatever kind of lies she could think of to get her name in the news,’ Lee says
Angela Lee has hit back at Istela Nunes after her former title challenger claimed the atomweight champ missed weight for their ONE Championship title fight.
“Unstoppable” Lee (10-2) submitted Nunes (7-2, 1 no contest) in the second round of their May 2017 bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“This is the whole thing,” she told the Post. “Istela, she was supposed to have her UFC debut years ago. She got caught with steroids, which I’m pretty confident she was also using steroids when we fought.
“Anyway, so that got pushed back, then she had her debut a few months ago and I think she was just trying to stir up some hype and make up whatever kind of lies she could think of to get her name in the news.”
ONE Championship entering PPV market in 2022
Nunes failed a drugs test in August 2019 and was pulled from a UFC Fight Night event in Mexico City. She tested positive for multiple steroid metabolites, and later accepted a two-year suspension by Usada. The 29-year-old tapped out to a rear-naked choke from Ariane Carnelossi at UFC Vegas 40 last October.
“I didn’t even wanna address it just because I don’t even think it’s worth addressing,” Lee said. “But for the record, for everyone out there, I have never missed weight in my fight.
“A lot of people are speculating that, ‘Oh yeah, Angela, she’s missed weight so many times’. I’ve never missed weight. It’s been really tough a few times with the hydration, making sure you pass hydration and making weight.
“With that fight [against Nunes], because I was sick and on antibiotics, it was hard for me to pass the hydration test, but they gave me a few hours and I was able to come back and pass both tests.
“All the officials are there. Her claims were I was missing weight from a whole division [up]. I’m like, ‘Are you crazy?’ I don’t know, you can’t believe the things people will say to stir up some news.”
Lee, who will return from a 2½-year lay-off on March 26 to defend her title against Stamp Fairtex at ONE: X in Singapore, hopes the organisation’s new policy of broadcasting hydration tests and weigh-ins live will help convince the sceptics.
“I think people weren’t accustomed to the way we are doing things in ONE with weight checks and hydration tests,” Lee said. “Sometimes it’s behind closed doors, so I do think it’s better now that it’s open to the public.
“Even before, I wanted to post [on social media, ‘Hey, made weight!’ and they didn’t allow us to do things live while they were doing the tests and stuff. I would always have to post it afterwards.
“But so many people throughout the years have been like, ‘Angela, she’s cheated so many times and they protecting her’. So now it’s gonna be plain for everyone to see, [and they can] shut up.”
