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Becoming a two-division ONE world champion is one of the most prestigious honors a fighter can have, and Christian Lee is ready for his big moment.
On November 18 at ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee, ‘The Warrior’ will look to steal Kiamrian Abbasov’s ONE welterweight world title and pair it alongside his ONE lightweight world championship.
Heading into the biggest fight of his life against arguably the toughest opponent he’s ever faced, Lee made it clear that he’s not out for redemption for the family name of any sort.
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Many pundits painted it as a chance for the 24-year-old to right the wrongs of his older sibling Angela Lee. ‘Unstoppable’ previously tried to conquer two divisions but failed twice against her cross-divisional rival Xiong Jing Nan.
As far as Christian Lee is concerned, this fight with Abbasov is not a form of revenge whatsoever. The Singaporean-American superstar simply wants to capitalize on the opportunity at hand and reach new heights in his career.
With that said, here are the three biggest reasons why Christian Lee will become a dual-world champion at ONE on Prime Video 4.
#3. Christian Lee can go toe-to-toe with Abbasov wherever the match ends up
While there’s no such thing as a perfect martial artist, Christian Lee comes pretty close to being one. If you can create a fighter inside a laboratory with the best overall attributes, Lee might just be the finished product.
After all, the United MMA and Evolve MMA standout has improved every time he sets foot in the circle. As evidenced by his ridiculous 94% career finishing rate, Lee is dangerous wherever the fight goes. Aside from that killer instinct, he’s also a versatile fighter with 11 wins coming by KO/TKO and four by submission.
While he has made significant strides with his striking acumen over the years, Lee is still a grappler at heart. That strong wrestling base will come in handy against a tank like Abbasov, who uses brute strength and immense pressure to break his opponents.
The 29-year-old might just be the promotion’s best Greco-Roman wrestler, finishing 11 of his 23 career wins by way of TKO. For instance, Abbasov was able to neutralize the hard-hitting Zebaztian Kadestam by constantly taking him down to win the 185-pound gold strap.
While we rarely see Lee on his back, he does have the tools to fend off the Kyrgyzstani’s top-heavy game. Additionally, while Abbasov does possess knockout power in his hands, Lee is the better striker with a far larger repertoire on the feet.
#2. Christian Lee is seeking to make his mark in a third division
Christian Lee practically grew up inside the circle. ONE fans have seen both his mind and body mature over the years, starting with his initial foray at the featherweight ranks.
Despite being one of the youngest fighters in the promotion at the time, 'The Warrior' amassed an impressive 11-3 record at 155 lbs. While he did not win the gold strap, Lee tied Martin Nguyen for most finishes in featherweight history at nine, which included five KOs and four submissions.
In his first match at lightweight, ‘The Warrior’ won the world title after Shinya Aoki called him out to challenge for the gold. It wasn’t a fluke by any means, as he later defeated another fearsome striker in Dagi Arslanaliev in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix final to win the top prize of the tournament.
Apart from the questionable loss to Ok Rae Yoon in their first encounter, Lee has been unbeatable at 170 lbs and rightfully deserves a shot to become a champ-champ.
If Lee can snag away the world title from Abbasov, maybe he’ll even consider taking care of some unfinished business by making a run for a possible third title at featherweight.
#1. A completely motivated Christian Lee is a scary opponent
As mentioned, losing to Ok Rae Yoon, especially in the manner that he did, just didn’t sit well with Christian Lee. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise for ‘The Warrior’ as that setback unlocked a whole different beast.
If that same wild animal appears against Abbasov, we might as well just crown him now. A tireless workhorse inside the gym, Lee fine-tuned all aspects of his game and unleashed a brutal wave of destruction upon his South Korean foe in their rematch.
It was a beautiful display of methodical annihilation, as he outclassed Ok in every way imaginable without opening himself up to retaliation. Lee simply reached another level of savagery we didn’t know he had.
Relive Lee vs. Ok II below:
‘Brazen’, of course, is bigger and stronger than Ok and is certainly more of a threat. But as we saw, a driven Christian Lee is an unstoppable force of nature. Winning a second world title should be all the motivation that he needs.
