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ONE welterweight MMA world champion Christian Lee is looking to defend his championship belt next. He is keen on having former divisional king Zebaztian Kadestam as a possible opponent.
'The Warrior' made this known in an interview with the South China Morning Post, citing how the 185-pound division has a number of worthy challengers, led by 'The Bandit'.
Lee, who concurrently holds the lightweight MMA world title, said:
"When I look at the welterweight division right now, I think Zebaztian Kadestam is definitely a worthy opponent. He just knocked out Roberto Soldic, he’s a former champion. But we’ll see what ONE Championship says, what they throw at me, and I’ll be training for everybody.
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Watch the interview below:
Christian Lee was last in action in December when he defended the lightweight championship belt against Turkish juggernaut Alibeg Rasulov. The title match ended in a no contest after the challenger was accidentally poked in the eye by Lee in the second round and was unable to continue after.
The match was the first for the Singaporean-American fighter after taking a nearly two-year break for personal reasons.
Swede Kademstam, meanwhile, last fought in ONE in May 2023, knocking out Croatian sensation Roberto Soldic in the second round of their welterweight MMA match.
Christian Lee busying self as coach of younger brother Adrian Lee
Apart from working on his game and trying to maintain his standing as ONE world champion, Christian Lee is also busying himself as coach to younger brother and rising star Adrian Lee.
It is a role that he is getting a lot of satisfaction from as he does not only get to oversee the development of 'The Phenom' but he is learning from it as well.
He spoke about during the preshow for ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, with Rich Franklin and Mitch Chilson, saying:
"It’s great. It’s nice that we kind of all do have the same trait. My parents, they started off teaching martial arts, then all the kids ended up growing up in fighting. So my brother and I, we’re in the gym every day, we’re pushing each other."
Christian Lee was at the corner of Adrian Lee at ONE 172 and saw the young fighter race to his third straight first-round submission victory, beating Japanese Takeharu Ogawa.
The replay of ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang is available at watch.onefc.com.
