Family dynasties in mixed martial arts are few and far between. Former UFC champion Randy Couture and his son Ryan, who competes in Bellator; the Diaz brothers, featuring former Strikeforce champion Nick and current UFC standout Nate; and the legendary Gracie family tree are probably the first examples that come to mind. Well, MMA fans should probably consider adding the Lee family into that conversation now.

Their family legacy starts at United MMA gym in Waipahu, Hawaii, just outside Honolulu. There you can find dozens of title belts from various martial arts promotions hung above the training mats as motivation for the professional athletes who call it their home away from home and the various students hoping to learn what it takes to get to that level. Owner and head coach Ken Lee understands that better than most.

Lee has coached martial arts since 1996 and holds black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, pankration and taekwondo. Originally from Singapore, he moved to Canada, where he was previously responsible for overseeing the national sports associations for jiu-jitsu and pankration as a coach and president, respectively. Now, Lee is the owner and head coach of United MMA after relocating his family to Hawaii in 2002. There, he oversees an array of classes as well as the training of his four children.

It was with his wife, Jewelz Lee—a two-time Canadian silver medalist and also a black belt in taekwondo who specializes in training young children at United MMA—that they introduced their kids to martial arts. 

"Growing up in Canada in the '70s when there was still a lot of hate, separation and racial discrimination was tough," Ken Lee told Bleacher Report. "I really wanted my children to not experience that, and if they did, to have the ability to stand up and defend themselves.

"It's always hard watching them fight, but we have to separate between being a parent and being a coach. As a parent, you're going to worry about your child no matter what they do."

As roughly a dozen media members walked up the stairs of United MMA to the main training area, they were greeted with traditional Hawaiian leis by two of the most recognized members of the gym: Angela and Christian Lee.

As is instantly made clear by the promotional posters hanging around their gym, Angela and Christian are lighting up ONE Championship as the current atomweight and lightweight champions, respectively. ONE, which launched in 2011 and is Asia's largest martial arts promotion, made headlines stateside last year when it signed former UFC champions Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson.

Angela started her professional career at ONE in 2016 when she was just 18 years old. Less than a year later, she became the youngest champion in its history by defeating Mei Yamaguchi in just her sixth match. Since then, she has defended her 105-pound belt three times, tied for the second-most defenses of all time.

Christian began his pro career even earlier than his sister, competing in his first match at 17 while still in high school. His road to gold wasn't as quick as Angela's, though, having to work his way back to contention after losing back-to-back matches, including his first title shot, in 2018. The end of that year was a turning point for The Warrior, avenging his loss against Edward Kelly before earning the 170-pound championship in May against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki.

Under the tutelage of Ken and Jewelz, who are always in their children's corner during matches, the siblings are no longer plucky teenage prospects. They look to defend coveted championships regularly while still fulfilling their own duties as coaches at United MMA.

Just like the young children whom they teach to throw a punch, Angela and Christian began training when they were toddlers, too.

The first brother/sister world champion tandem in mixed martial arts history credit the early career success to their parents, who exposed them to the sport at a young age. That expeditious development allowed them to get a jump on their competition.

"We were each other's first-ever training partners," Christian, 21, said. "Angela started when she was four, I was like three, and since then we've been voluntarily and involuntarily thrown on the mats together. At the time, we thought of it as something we just did every day. As we've grown up, we're old enough to look back and understand how that training at a young age paid off in the long run."

When Christian defeated Aoki to become the ONE lightweight world champion, Angela's emotional reaction after his victory illustrated how much the moment meant after thousands of hours spent training together.

"I was at a loss for words here," a blushing Angela said after being shown her reaction in the middle of the United MMA cage. "I was so happy for Christian because at that moment, I thought, 'This is what we've worked toward.' We were just kids when we talked about being the first brother/sister world champions. Even when we were amateurs, we had that vision. At that moment, everything fell into place."

"That really means the world to me," Christian responded as he grinned ear-to-ear watching Angela's touching reaction. "We started this journey as martial artists together. Just seeing how much it meant to her that I won my title means so much to me. She wanted it for me. I wanted it bad for myself, but she wanted it badly for me."

Also participating in the daily classes are Angela's husband and Christian's fiancee.

Katie Guzman, his fiancee who is a practicing martial artist in her own right, met Christian in high school in 2013 when both competed for the school's wrestling team. Although unaware of the Lee family's prominence in the MMA community initially, she quickly found out after participating in her first few trainings at United MMA gym. Despite all his accolades, Christian admits Katie often gets the better of him on the mat.

"I can honestly say she's the only person that makes me tap every single time we roll," he said.

Two years after Katie and Christian met, Angela met now-husband Bruno Pucci while training at Evolve MMA in Singapore. Pucci was a jiu-jitsu instructor at the time as well as a ONE Championship athlete. Once the couple married last year, Pucci relocated to Hawaii and became a trainer at United MMA. 

The Brazilian is already impressed by the unity shown from the family-oriented team. Egos are left at the door, something Pucci felt was an issue at some of his previous teams that were overly competitive and included members jealous of each other's success. 

Working with his wife every day is nice, too.

"I think that's why what we have is so special," said Pucci, who won his last ONE featherweight fight in January. "I think for an average couple, they get married, you wake up in the morning, give a kiss to your significant other, then you go to your separate jobs. I think we're very lucky to wake up every day, hop in a car together and come to training. That's our life, that's our passion. We're very blessed to be able to live this dream together.

"Sometimes people come to the gym and see us punching each other in the face, but it's actually kind of nice because you get to spend the whole day together and plan our future. We share this passion together, and it's beautiful."

Angela could do without the punches, however.

"Sometimes my emotions get all bent out of shape during training and I'll be like, 'Why did you punch me in the face earlier?'" she said, smiling. "Well, that's what he's supposed to do. But I'll still hold it against him."

The Lee family now have their hands full with both Angela and Christian set to defend their ONE Championship titles in the near future.

Angela faces Xiong Jing Nan at ONE: Century on Oct. 12 in a rematch of their five-round thriller from March in which Lee suffered her first professional loss. That match was for Xiong's strawweight belt, but now she's dropping down a weight class to try and strip the 23-year-old of the title she's held for over three years.

Although Christian doesn't have an official date for his next match, he's eyeing the winner of the lightweight world grand prix final between former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez and Saygid Arslanaliev, who also face off on the ONE: Century card in Tokyo. In the United States, Part I of the Century card the night of Oct. 12 airs on TNT and B/R Live, and Part II will be the morning of Oct. 13 on B/R Live.