Christian Lee looks back at his five-round war with Kiamrian Abbasov

Christian Lee is his own worst critic. After delivering a memorable performance at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November to capture his second world championship in the span of three months, ‘The Warrior’ believes he could have done better.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Lee shared his thoughts on the champion vs. champion main event with former welterweight king Kiamrian Abbasov:

“Looking back, I still feel like I could’ve done much better at that fight. I feel like if I was fighting at my full potential that night, I could’ve finished him in the first round. But I had that early knockdown by Abbasov, and that kinda set me back a little bit. It turned the fight into a war which I was prepared for anyways.”

Squaring off with a bigger and stronger Kyrgyz-Russian opponent, Christian Lee faced some early adversity, getting dropped by Abbasov in the opening round. From there, it was all about survival. Abbasov emptied his gas tank looking for an early finish, giving Lee the opportunity to turn their title fight into a brawl.

It paid off for ‘The Warrior’ in round four as he was able to wrestle Abbasov to the mat and unload a barrage of strikes, forcing the referee to step in and call for a stoppage.

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Saygid Izagakhmaev believes he is destined to defeat Christian Lee

As fans continue to marvel at Christian Lee’s epic world title victories in 2022, Saygid Izagakhmaev is chomping at the bit to fulfill his destiny by snatching the lightweight crown away from the most prolific finisher in ONE Championship history. Speaking to ONE, Izagakhmaev said that it is his destiny to capture the lightweight title and believes nobody, including Christian Lee, can stop him.

“I’m destined to be the lightweight champion, it’s only a matter of time. I think I will become the ONE World Champion in half a year. I’m the new force in the lightweight division, and nobody will stop me.”

Izagakhmaev is undefeated under the ONE Championship banner with his most impressive victory coming against Asian martial arts legend and former ONE world champion Shinya Aoki at ONE 163 in November. It only took Izagakhmaev 86 seconds to dispatch Aoki and establish himself as the next man in line for a lightweight title opportunity.

Do you want to see Saygid Izagakhmaev challenge Christian Lee for the lightweight crown?