Emerging MMA star Victoria Lee dead aged 18 as family pay tribute to "beautiful soul"

Rising mixed martial arts fighter Victoria Lee has died at the age of 18, her family has confirmed.

Lee, nicknamed "the Prodigy', hailed from a family with a rich MMA pedigree in Hawaii and was tipped as a future world champion.

The teenager competed in ONE, Asia's biggest MMA promotion, and won her first three fights as she looked to follow in the footsteps of her talented siblings.

Lee's sister Angela is the ONE Championship atomweight champion, while her brother Christian is the lightweight champion in the same promotion.

In an emotional Instagram tribute on Saturday, Angela confirmed that her sister Victoria had passed away on December 26.

“She has gone too soon and our family has been completely devastated since then,” Angela wrote on Instagram.

Lee's sister Angela confirmed her death in an Instagram post on Saturday (victorialee.mma/Instagram)

“We miss her … [m]ore than anything in this world. Our family will never be the same. Life will never be the same. Victoria was the most beautiful soul who ever lived. She was the best little sister in the world.”

She continued: "We miss you so much sis. More than you could ever realize. We're all broken. Because a piece of you was in each of us and when you left, those pieces were ripped out of us. We will never be the same.

"Each and every little thing makes me think of you. From the sun rays, to the sunset. You taught us to see the beauty in the simple things.

Angela Lee shared this image in an emotional tribute post for Victoria (angelaleemma/Instagram)

"You were our bright light. Our sunshine. And that will never change. You were perfect in every way. The best person I knew. The most beautiful girl, inside and out. "

Lee, like her siblings, was an MMA phenomenon and was set to return to the sport to continue growing as a fighter in 2023 following a break to focus on graduating from high school.

Tributes have been pouring in for Victoria across the MMA world after Angela's poignant post that confirmed her unexpected death.

Victoria Lee had a 3-0 record in the ONE Championship (victorialee.mma/Instagram)

Popular MMA journalist Ariel Helwani said: "An unspeakable tragedy. May she rest in peace."

ONE Chairman Chatri Sityodtong wrote on Facebook: "Victoria had the purest heart of gold and a brilliant mind. She looked after others before herself.

"She wanted to use her life to help the world. I will always remember Victoria for the beautiful and precious soul that she was.”