- ‘We pay very close attention to the rules,’ says atomweight champion
- Lee hit ‘The Panda’ with suplex move in fifth round before submitting her
Angela Lee has defend herself against accusations she used an illegal suplex in the climax of her fight against Xiong Jingnan at One Championship's Century Part 1 card in Tokyo.
"Unstoppable" retained her atomweight title in their rematch by submitting "The Panda" by rear-naked choke with just 12 seconds left on the clock in the fifth and final round.
But some fans on social media had claimed she set up the submission with an illegal slam.
"We pay very close attention to the rules of One Championship, and when I went for my takedown, I lifted her up and I threw her front side. So she would land on her face, not on the back of her head," Lee told FanSided.
Angela Lee's statement on the controversial suplex move in the fifth-round of her fight #ONECentury pic.twitter.com/LLeC2b57SC
" Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) October 13, 2019
"I'm pretty sure that everything is on camera. And, you know, I'm looking to end the fight in a clean way. And I'm not going to be a dirty fighter and try to take advantage of any situation."
One CEO Chatri Sityodtong also appeared to play down the incident at the post-even press conference.
The official One rule set printed in the event's programme notes says "all takedowns are legal but must not result in spiking or pile driver to the head or neck". The move is not listed under the "illegal techniques" section either.
"I have not seen the replay or anything like that so I don't know, did she land on her shoulder?" One CEO Chatri Sityodtong said at the post-event press conference.
"I don't know if it was a full suplex or a side suplex. I have to review the footage or get the competition team to review the footage."
Interesting. Chatri himself has stated all variations are illegal and has disqualified fighters, including Christian Lee, for them. Granted, I hate the suplex rule they (now allegedly?) have. pic.twitter.com/qZmW0gIJaz
" Kenny Dixon III (@KenDixonIII) October 13, 2019
However, Chatri had said in a 2018 Facebook post that "all suplexes are illegal and any attempt or intent results in automatic disqualification".
Several fighters, including Lee's brother, Christian Lee, have been disqualified for using them.
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