Angela Lee wins by decision; Martin Nguyen retains featherweight title

SINGAPORE - ONE atomweight champion Angela Lee retained her title in front of a hometown crowd but not without controversy following a questionable unanimous decision victory over Mei Yamaguchi in the main event of "ONE: Unstoppable Dreams" Friday night at Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

Angela Lee played the aggressor in the opening round but it was Yamaguchi who landed the cleaner shots with her counter punching. In round two, Lee scored her first takedown of the fight then pounded away at Yamaguchi. The defending champion also attempted an armbar only to be denied by Yamaguchi's raw strength.

Lee worked to get the contest on the ground in round three where she had Yamaguchi's back as she went to try a rear naked choke. Yamaguchi dropped Lee with a straight right hand in round 4 then pounded away at the local favorite.

Yamaguchi scored her first takedown of the contest in round 5, Lee tried to look for a submission while on her back but came up short in every turn. In the final seconds of the fight, Yamaguchi was able to get another takedown that would've made a huge impact on the scorecards.

The hometown fighter Lee was awarded a disputable unanimous decision win after five rounds, improving her record to 9-0 while Yamaguchi dropped to 17-11-1.

"I thought I won," said Yamaguchi shortly after the fight. "I always think that if I fight in a foreign country and challenge for the title, I really need to get a clear finish because decisions kind of go to the champion all the time."

Nguyen retains featherweight title

In the co-main event, Christian Lee was systematic in his rematch against Martin Nguyen for the ONE featherweight title. Lee went for the takedowns while Nguyen wanted to keep the fight standing up.

Martin "The Situ-Asian" Nguyen retains his ONE Featherweight World Title in a thrilling, hard-fought affair! #UnstoppableDreams #Singapore #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/NCpGUFmcqA

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 18, 2018

Having dealt more damage throughout the fight, Nguyen was awarded a split decision nod to retain his ONE featherweight title. He improved to 11-2 while Lee suffered his second loss to Nguyen and dropped his record to 9-2.

"The lightweight is always there and everyone deserves a shot. I'll let the lightweight division play out whoever wants to step up," told Nguyen.

"In terms where my next step is, I am still going for ONE bantamweight Bibiano Fernandes. I still think I was robbed. My ultimate goal this year is to defend my titles successfully and also win that bantamweight title." — DVM, GMA News