“He has that style to push and test me” - Christian Lee says Ok Rae Yoon is his toughest opponent

Christian Lee believes that Ok Rae Yoon is the most formidable fighter he's encountered so far in his explosive career.

'The Warrior' still believes he won his first encounter with the Korean, but cites him as his toughest test. The 24-year-old fully intends to finish the champion early when they have their rematch at ONE 160 on August 26.

Having previously held the belt before his shock unanimous decision loss to Ok in September 2021, Christian Lee boasts knockout victories over three of the top five at lightweight. He broke the champion's orbital bone, but was unable to finish him and ultimately paid the price with the loss of the title.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Lee said:

"The toughest opponent, I would say, is Ok Rae Yoon... He's got a good style for me, in the sense that I'm a finisher; I play to win. I like to go in there and get the job done. And Ok is, you know, in a way, the complete opposite fighter. He likes to drag the fight out, he likes to play not to lose and try to tire his opponent out when they're trying to finish him. So, you know, I think it's good that he has that style to push and test me. And, you know, it pushes me to train even harder every day."

Catch the full interview below:

The 2021 encounter with Ok was only the second time Christian Lee endured a full five rounds. For a man whose career has flourished by finishing his opponents early on, the Singaporean-American fighter is not accustomed to battling in deep waters.

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Christian Lee backs Eddie Alvarez vs. Shinya Aoki trilogy

Christian Lee cites his title win over his friend Shinya "Tobikan Jūdan" Aoki as his favorite career win. The Japanese icon is currently ranked at No.3 in the divisio.

The ONE lightweight Grand Prix winner believes that a trilogy with Eddie Alvarez could be the best match to make next for his Evolve MMA teammate and one that could put him on his own collision course with 'The Underground King'.

"Yeah, that would be a good fight. I believe Shinya is still up on the rankings. Right. So yeah, definitely. That's the fight to get him back into the top five. The next one could be a title [shot] right after that."

Lee is the most prolific finisher in the history of ONE Championship. If he lives up to his predicition of finishing a man who was voted ONE’s 2021 Male MMA Fighter Of The Year, it would arguably be his greatest accomplishment yet.