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Christian Lee plans for his next fight to be a defense of his ONE welterweight MMA world title.
In December 2024, Lee ended his two-year sabbatical following the untimely passing of his younger sister, Victoria. The two-division MMA world champion was tasked with defending his lightweight MMA throne against the undefeated Alibeg Rasulov.
Lee's comeback fight against Rasulov ended prematurely due to the reigning world champion landing an accidental eye poke. Rasulov couldn't recover from the damage, leading to a no-contest ending in the second round.
There were questions about whether Lee and Rasulov would be booked for an immediate rematch. During an interview with the South China Morning Post, 'The Warrior' revealed his next fight will be a welterweight title defense instead:
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"I brought my weight back down from welterweight to lightweight for that one fight last year. But now I’m preparing to defend my welterweight belt. Since I won it back in 2022 already, there’s been a lot of time in between and I feel like it’s only right to defend the belt there."
Before his previously mentioned return, Christian Lee fought twice in 2022. The 26-year-old recaptured the ONE lightweight MMA world title against Ok Rae Yoon and took the welterweight MMA strap from Kiamrian Abbasov.
Check out Christian Lee's entire interview with the South China Morning Post below:
Who should Christian Lee defend the welterweight world title against next?
Alibeg Rasulov remains the plausible contender for the ONE lightweight MMA world title. Meanwhile, a couple of names could be slated as possible contenders for the ONE welterweight MMA world title.
Former ONE welterweight MMA world champion Zebaztian Kadestam and Roberto Soldic could be possible contenders for Christian Lee's 185-pound MMA world title.
Kadestam is coming off three straight wins against Valmir Da Silva, Iuri Lapicus, and Soldic.
Soldic, meanwhile, is coming off a huge statement win over the dangerous Dagi Arslanaliev earlier this year.
The Croatian sensation scored a brutal one-shot knockout win over Arslanaliev in their welterweight MMA tussle at ONE 171: Qatar in February.
