Christian Lee feels Saygid Izagakhmaev’s fight against Shinya Aoki will be "a big tell" if he’s ready for title shot

Christian Lee believes that Saygid Izagakhmaev’s fight against Shinya Aoki will prove how ready he is for a world title shot.

At ONE 163, two of the hottest contenders in the lightweight division, Izagakhmaev and Aoki, will clash for the top spot in the rankings. The fight will take place on November 19 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Christian Lee, in particular, is excited to see how good of a fighter Izagakhmaev is against a tough submission specialist like Aoki. Having defeated Aoki by TKO for the ONE lightweight world title in May 2019, Lee knows first-hand how difficult it is to beat the icon.

Unimpressed by Izagakhmaev’s latest performance in the promotion, Lee wants to see how well he fares against Shinya Aoki before he thinks the Russian is deserving of a world title shot.

He told The MMA Superfan:

“It’s gonna be interesting [to see] how that one plays out, whether he [Saygid] can implement his ground game or whether Shinya can implement his. I’m gonna be watching that fight very closely, and I think that [it] will be a big tell if he’s ready for a title shot or not.”

Catch the exclusive interview below:

Relatively new to ONE Championship, the Russian native has already made a statement in the division with back-to-back victories over James Nakashima and Zhang Lipeng this year alone. However, Christian Lee needs a little more convincing if Izagakhmaev intends to challenge him for his belt.

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Christian Lee is grateful for the chance to fight Kiamrian Abbasov for his world title

A day before Shinya Aoki and Saygid Izagakhmaev settle their differences inside the circle, Christian Lee will make his return on the double-header fight card at ONE on Prime Video 4.

He will be moving up a weight class to challenge reigning ONE welterweight king Kiamrian Abbasov to fulfill a life-long dream of becoming a rare double world champion.

Christian Lee is still very vigilant about what the future holds for him and who his potential challengers are should he be successful in his quest for two-division glory.

Suffice to say, the next few weeks are going to be rough but also exciting for Lee, as he might find himself defending two world title belts in the future instead of one.

Grateful for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight Abbasov for another world title, Christian Lee told ONE:

“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to be fighting for the welterweight title. I’m sure there are other organizations who would want the champion to go and get a few fights in the welterweight division before going for a title. But I also feel like everything lined up well to make this super-fight happen.”