Christian Lee says fight with Kiamrian Abbasov could go down to who has more "skill and heart"

Two-time ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee will not need to be as big as ONE welterweight world champion Kiamrian Abbasov to take his belt.

The 24-year-old from Mililani, Hawaii says "skill and heart" are enough for him to make history and become a rare two-division world champion.

Lee and Abbasov will battle for the Russian’s welterweight gold in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 4, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, November 18. The event is free for fans in the United States and Canada with a Prime Video subscription.

Speaking to The MMA Superfan in a recent interview, Lee was asked if the size differential would play a factor in this fight. ‘The Warrior,’ who began his ONE Championship career as a featherweight in 2015, when he was just 17 years old, is now making his 185-pound debut against the king of the division.

Christian Lee said:

“In a fight, the weight is one of the last things that come into play. When you’re in a fight with somebody, the main thing is just skill and heart. Whoever wants the fight more is who’s going to fight. It doesn’t matter who comes in bigger or smaller.”

Though Lee believes it could come down to who is the better fighter, and not particularly the bigger fighter, that still doesn’t make this fight easy for ‘The Warrior.’

Abbasov has won five of his last seven in the circle, including a successful world title defense against highly regarded James Nakashima in late 2020. He faltered against ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder earlier this year in his own attempt to reach double-champion status, but Abbasov remains as dangerous as ever in the weight class he rules.

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Christian Lee views himself as the underdog heading into Kiamrian Abbasov matchup

There’s no denying who the bigger star is, with Christian Lee being one of the most recognizable faces in ONE Championship. Kiamrian Abbasov has been dominant at welterweight, but he is nowhere near the draw that Lee is at his best.

Still, the 24-year-old Singaporean-American superstar says he doesn’t look at himself as the odds-on favorite heading into this fight, which allows him to keep his edge in the circle.

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Lee said:

“I always look at myself as the underdog, as the challenger. And I always feel like I need to be working harder. So I'm never going to be satisfied with my performance until I've hung up my gloves and I'm done fighting.”

We’re just a couple of days away from the biggest moment in Christian Lee’s young career. If he wins, he’ll add yet another notch to a growing list of accolades he’s collected since starting martial arts.