“I'm going to have my work cut out for me” - Christian Lee expects tough challenges from new opponents at lightweight

ONE lightweight king Christian Lee currently has his eyes set on becoming a simultaneous two-division champion at ONE on Prime Video 4, but he hasn't forgotten about the looming challenges waiting for him down at lightweight.

'The Warrior' is set to face welterweight champ Kiamrian Abbasov in the ONE on Prime Video 4 headliner. A victory would further etch Lee into ONE's history books. Lee has stiff challenges waiting for him to return to lightweight, including fresh foes like Dagi Arslanaliev, Halil Amir and Saygid Izagakhmaev.

The champion recently spoke with ONE Championship about some of the lightweight contenders:

"Halil Amir, yeah, he had a great performance, just knocking out Timofey [Nastyukhin]. And then Saygid [Izagakhmaev], I've been watching him since he joined the promotion. I think if he gets a good win over Shinya, he's going to be next in line for the title, and with Amir too, getting that knockout over Timofey puts him right on the rankings."

The 24-year-old added:

"I know that I'm going to have my work cut out for me when I go back to defend my lightweight title. But as of right now, I'm excited about this move up to welterweight."

---

Christian Lee says ONE is restoring MMA in Japan

ONE is undoubtedly the biggest MMA promotion in Asia in addition to being one of the most successful organizations on earth. Lee believes events like ONE 163 are helping revitalize the sport in Japan. He told the promotion:

“I think ONE Championship is greatly helping to bring the sport back to life, to the way that it was back in the Pride days. There were a lot of hardcore fans that loved watching Pride. And when the organization got bought out, it really died down a lot. So yeah, I think that [ONE 163] is going to be a great night for the Japanese fighters, helping to bring that back to life in Japan.”

Christian Lee's attempt at becoming a double champ is easily one of the biggest fights of 2022. With a ONE record of 16-4, 'The Warrior' is up there with the most decorated fighters in ONE history.

Make sure to watch Christian Lee gun for double-champ status against welterweight champion Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18, live from Singapore Indoor Stadium.