Christian Lee talks Saygid Izagakhmaev, Dagi Arslanaliev, stacked lightweight division

Christian Lee will soon have the opportunity to right the wrong he believes he suffered at ONE: Revolution last September.

Following his lightweight world title loss to Ok Rae Yoon, ‘The Warrior’ called “bull***t,” believing the judges got the decision wrong. Since then, Lee has been lobbying for a rematch. He will get his wish in the main event of ONE 160 on August 26, when Christian Lee and Ok Rae Yoon run back their controversial first bout.

Never one to look past the task at hand, ‘The Warrior’ took a moment to discuss some of the up-and-coming lightweight contenders that may be in his future should he regain the division’s crown in August.

While speaking to the South China Morning Post, Christian Lee discussed potential contenders, including Russian newcomer Saygid Izagakhmaev.

“There are a few other contenders that are coming up. I know there's a new Russian. His name is Saygid [Izagakhmaev] also, and he's also doing really good. And, you know, just anyone in the lightweight division really, floating up to the top 10. It could be within a title shot, just one or two fights away.”

Catch the full interview below:

Saygid Izagakhmaev made his ONE Championship debut in January at ONE: Heavy Hitters. He earned a second-round submission over James Nakashima.

While Izagakhmaev only has one fight under the ONE banner, he carries an overall record of 20-2 in MMA and is already the No. 5-ranked lightweight in the promotion.

“So I know he wants that belt so he's probably going to be getting a big fight soon to put himself into contention. We'll see. The lightweight division has always been stacked. And once I get the belt back, then we can talk about that.”

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Christian Lee believes Dagi Arslanaliev is a win away from title contention

Another contender on Lee’s radar is Turkish fighter Dagi Arslanaliev. ‘The Warrior’ previously scrapped with Dagi at ONE: Century Part 1 in 2019. Christian Lee earned a unanimous decision victory, handing Dagi only his second career loss.

Since then, he has only fought once in the circle, defeating Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE: Winter Warriors to close out 2021. Sitting in the No. 2 spot, Dagi is likely one or two wins away from a potential title fight, according to Lee.

“Well the lightweight division is still stacked with some of the best fighters in the world. You know, Dagi is still up there. But we've seen him fight once since the last time that he and I fought. So in the last three years, he's fought only once. I think that maybe just one more fight for him and he would be next in line.”