“It was more of my opponent trying to survive” - Christian Lee criticizes Ok Rae Yoon for playing safe in 2021 fight

Christian Lee and ONE lightweight world champion Ok Rae Yoon will figure in a highly-anticipated rematch in the main event at ONE 160 in Singapore on August 26.

'The Warrior' made no secret of his disappointment with the result of his 2021 encounter with the South Korean. The Busan native recorded a unanimous decision win to take the title at ONE: Revolution last September. However, Christian Lee was left angered by the judges’ call.

The result was upheld following a review from the ONE Championship competition committee and neither man has fought since. Christian Lee recently spoke about the controversial result in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA and said:

"You know, in my last fight, I really didn't get hit too much. I feel like it was more of my opponent trying to survive, trying to stay alive in there, which of course led to me, you know, getting tired. And that's the only downside I would see. But you know, the time off was great, but I wasn't really healing up any injuries. I was ready to go. I wanted the rematch to happen sooner, but you know, no complaining, it's happening now."

Catch our full interview with Lee below:

The former world champion had a strong case for winning the first fight. He broke Ok's orbital bone but paid the price for gassing out in the later rounds. The 24-year-old insists he'll be looking for a first-round finish this time around to put the result beyond doubt.

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Christian Lee says he'll be looking to make up for lost time

The United MMA and Evolve MMA star is not accustomed to sitting on the sidelines.

The lightweight Grand Prix winner burst onto the scene as a 17-year-old and racked up an impressive 15-4 record, as well as two belts, in seven years. Having seen his rematch postponed on two occasions, the Singaporean-American superstar is keen to crack on.

"Definitely, you know, after this fight, I claim my belt back. I definitely plan on staying active, fighting multiple times a year, and defending it," he said.

Christian Lee owns the most-finishes in the history of the promotion with a total of 14 inside the circle. If he's able to put away Ok at ONE 160 it will be the first time ONE's 2021 Male MMA Fighter Of The Year has been finished since 2015.