Bend the Knee to Your Future Queen, 16 Year Old MMA Phenom Victoria Lee
Important Disclaimer: I make it my policy not to celebrate child prodigies in any walk of life. Athletics. Acting. Music. "Top Chef Junior." "America's Got Talent." Greta Thunberg. One, because you never know how all that attention is going to affect someone who's not yet a fully formed individual. I think we've all seen enough "E! True Hollywood Stories" plus the Britney Spears documentary in order to learn to tread lightly when it comes to child celebrities. And two, I've got the gift of enough self-awareness to detect the obvious Ick Factor of a grown man gushing about the exploits of a minor. For instance, the Irish Rose loves international Gymnastics. But I have no interest in anything where you're on the downside of your career before you reach voting age. Aside from maybe college Gymnastics, that sport is a Texas sized no for me.
But there are exceptions to my No Prodigy rule. Sometimes there are individuals who have the mental makeup to not only handle the attention, they meet or exceed expectations. Wayne Gretzky being a prime example. It would've been a dereliction of duty not to follow Tiger Woods when he was already coming up the amateur rankings as a teenager. The Williams sisters. Lebron.
And to their ranks, we might need to add another prodigy. One specifically named "The Prodigy." Newest MMA champion Victoria Lee. Who just so happens to come from a family of MMA fighters.
Source - The third member of the Lee family shined in her MMA debut under the ONE Championship banner Friday.
Victoria Lee, the 16-year-old sister of ONE atomweight queen Angela Lee and ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee, took on Sunisa Srisen in an atomweight contest in the only MMA bout of ONE: Fists of Fury in Singapore.
Srisen held a 4-1 record prior to this bout, but couldn’t stop the teenager’s game on the ground.
“The Prodigy” and Srisen kicked things off by exchanging punches wildly early on before Lee closed the distance and clinched, but it was Srisen who secured the takedown. Lee got back on her feet right away and ate a high kick to the head, and they once again exchanged punches before Lee took her opponent down.
Sweet Moses, this girl is terrifying. How can you develop that level of tenacious badassery before you've even gotten your driver's license? I suppose coming from the Lee family doesn't hurt. It's got to be genetics and upbringing. Nature and nurture.
Her sister:
Her brother:
And the entire family:
I suppose with a pedigree of cage fighting champions, you're born to be an MMA winner. I know having four older siblings made me tougher just by default. And my brothers are soft. In the Lee family, you probably can't get the last of a box of cereal without having to go 10 rounds or force your opponent to submit. So making quick work of an experienced fighter in the ONE Championship in Singapore in your first bout it probably child's play.
Again, I have a No Prodigy's rule for a reason. But if MMA fighters sold shares like stocks, I'd invest heavily into Victoria Lee futures.