“I could not breathe” - Christian Lee on powering through first-round adversity against Kiamrian Abbasov

At ONE on Prime Video 4, Christian Lee’s nickname was put to the test. ‘The Warrior’ had to weather the toughest round of his career to survive past the opening round against Kiamrian Abbasov.

Lee showed incredible heart and toughness to even see the second round, let alone go on to produce the comeback of the year and stop Abbasov in the fourth round.

Claiming double champion status in the process with his newly acquired welterweight world championship, Lee showed that the size difference between the two wasn’t the defining factor in the fight.

In his post-fight interview, Lee spoke about his perseverance, refusing to give up:

“That quote holds true in that fight, towards the end of the fight, I'm telling you I could not breathe. But I wanted to win more. So it's true. In order to be successful you have to put everything on the line. You have to be successful as badly as you want to breathe, and I think that the best in the world know that.”

Watch Lee’s full post-fight interview below:

‘The Warrior’ has already made his intentions to defend both world championships clear, aiming not to constantly fluctuate between the two weight classes, which could suggest a welterweight world title defense up next for the newly crowned champion.

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“I heard my dad yell to abandon it” - Christian Lee on the moment he finished Kiamrian Abbasov

Reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight world champion could not have made it to this point without his mentor. Christian has put his trust in his father, Ken Lee, which once again paid dividends for ‘The Warrior’ in his most recent fight.

At just 24 years old, Christian Lee wrote his name into the history books as the youngest ever two-division world champion in ONE Championship, handing former welterweight champion Kiamrian Abbasov his first TKO loss.

After overcoming a devastating first-round from Abbasov, Christian Lee started to take over the fight as his opponent became fatigued hunting for the finish. Lee’s grappling proved to be a big difference in the fight, taking Abbasov down and landing some heavy ground and pound. In the fourth round, Lee continued to break his opponent down and got the full mount, seemingly looking to set up a submission.

After a change in offense, Lee continued to rain down ground and pound, which led to the TKO stoppage. A decision that the newly crowned champion said was his father's call. In his post-fight interview, Christian Lee said:

“My corner consists of my dad, my brother Adrian, and Shakur. I couldn't tell you [what my corner told me]. The fight's a blur and it literally just happened. But I can tell you that a very pivotal moment in the fight happened in the fourth round when the finish was there. I was looking for the arm triangle, as you can see if you play the fight back, I heard my dad yell to abandon it and to go for the finish. That's what I did. And the finish happened. I have the best corner in the world.”