Angela Lee embodies success. 

She's the ONE Championship atomweight queen (twice over), she's headlining Friday's ONE: Dynasty of Heroes event, and she's living her dream, traveling the world and soaking in culture and experiences many may never encounter. 

Oh, and she's 20 years old. 

Despite these successes and accolades, Lee (7-0) heads into her upcoming fight against the similarly undefeated Istela Nunes understanding there's no easy task ahead. . 

"A lot of fighters lose their edge when they start to think that it’s easy being champion," Lee told FloCombat. "Keeping the belt is a lot harder than winning it the first time around. I would love to test my skills against the best fighters in the world, and to show everyone how much I have improved since my last fight even if I am the champion.

"Winning the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship was one of the best achievements of my career so far, but I don’t want to go into this fight feeling like I’m the champion. I want to stay as hungry as the challenger."

Lee began her journey toward gold in May 2015, winning against Aya Saber via armbar at ONE Championship 27: Warrior's Quest. She followed that up with four more submissions—including a twister and a neck crank—before running into veteran Mei Yamaguchi.

The two put on a Fight of the Year candidate for five full rounds, with Lee eventually taking the decision and the ONE atomweight title. While she's not necessarily surprised by her career trajectory, Lee admits everything transpired at a rapid pace. 

"It just blows me away to see how fast things have escalated," Lee said. "It’s only been two years since I’ve been competing with ONE Championship, and it’s been a crazy, crazy ride so far. It’s always such a treat for me to be fighting in Singapore. I have the support from all my family and my fans. Being the youngest MMA world champion was a dream come true for me, but this is just the beginning. I’m young, motivated and determined. I’m just getting started.”

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Born to a Singaporean father and a South Korean mother, Lee takes pride in representing Asia's largest mixed martial arts promotion as its first female champion on several levels.

"Asia has a 5,000-year history of martial arts," Lee said. "We are all about celebrating and honoring the true spirit of our sport. With the help of ONE Championship, I was able to inspire many women all over the region who have dreams and aspirations, especially [since] there are still parts of Asia that operate in a predominantly patriarchal society. It’s awesome to be a part of a company that is making so much progress and giving people in different countries something to look up to. We are crushing gender barriers across Asia.”

And while she feels the cast of the UFC, she also believes in her own skills, and she knows she'd be competitive in the eight-walled battle chamber. 

"I think that because the UFC is the major organization in North America, a lot of time people don’t pay as much attention to the other organizations and they might discredit them," Lee said. "I think when I watch the fighters fight, I don’t necessarily talk like that, but I know that I can hang with them. I’m pretty confident in my skillset that I could do well." 

First up, though, is a showdown Friday with Nunes, an impressively powerful striker with an ever-evolving game. While many figure Nunes to be the toughest test to-date for Lee, the young champion remains calm and positive—a disposition you'll almost never see her break. 

"I think that Istela is a good opponent for me," Lee said. "Our styles are both very explosive, and it’ll be exciting for the fans to see. She’s a great striker, being a two-time Muay Thai world champion, but I know that I’m much more well-rounded. And I feel I can take this fight anywhere I want it, whether it be on the feet or the ground. I’m extremely confident in all areas.

"At the end of the day, I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happened because I still feel like I’m the same girl. I’m just this 20-year-old kid who’s living the dream. It’s really amazing, and I’m just loving it. I’m loving the journey."