“I wasn't chasing the knockout” - Christian Lee says patience was key in finishing Ok Rae Yoon

Newly crowned ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee is not the type of fighter to make the same mistake twice. While he wished to send a strong message to the rest of the division in his rematch with Ok Rae Yoon at ONE 160, ‘The Warrior’ made sure he learned from his shortcomings in their first fight.

The 24-year-old MMA superstar admitted he was out for blood and practically head-hunted when he lost the ONE lightweight world title to the South Korean at ONE: Revolution last year.

This time around, Christian Lee used a more methodical approach and got the finish in a more natural manner. The game plan worked to perfection, as the highlight reel-worthy knockout came at the one-minute mark of the second round.

Christian Lee clipped Ok with a thunderous overhand right to the temple, which dropped the former champion to the canvas. He followed it up with five unanswered knees to his downed opponent’s head, forcing the referee to intervene.

Relive Lee’s incredible moment below:

Lee, who notched his 11th career win via knockout, said in his ONE 160 post-fight interview:

“I mean, who doesn't love a knockout? But for me, I wasn't chasing the knockout. My main thing in this fight was staying composed, picking my shots, and, you know, going for the finish, but taking it in its own time. And so my whole strategy, my approach was to be patient. And that's why it ended up being done in the second.”

Truth be told, it seemed like there were several instances in the first round where Lee could have ended Ok’s night.

‘The Warrior’ showcased amazing restraint by not being overly aggressive and opening himself up for counters as he did in the first fight. Once the opportunity presented itself, Lee went for the coup de grâce.

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Christian Lee is still evolving

Christian Lee has already accomplished so much in his young fighting career that people tend to forget he’s just 24 years old.

The versatile martial artist is yet to reach his full ceiling and still has so much more room to grow.

Considering how great he already is, that’s a scary reality for his opponents moving forward.

In the build-up to his son’s rematch with OK, Ken Lee described his son’s maturity both as a fighter and a person. The Lee patriarch told ONE:

“As a young fighter, he had one speed, and he would go full blast into everything, which was good. But now, he is able to switch gears a lot more.”