Eduard Folayang says Kiamrian Abbasov’s size could be a problem for Christian Lee

Filipino legend Eduard Folayang weighed in on the recently announced ONE welterweight world title showdown between Kiamrian Abbasov and Christian Lee.

The wait is finally over as Abbasov returns to the ring on Friday, November 18, for his second world title defense against ONE lightweight world champion Christian ‘The Warrior’ Lee. The two are set to headline the main event for the stacked ONE on Prime Video 4 card at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

For Lee, it’s been a long time coming. Returning from a convincing TKO victory against former rival Ok Rae Yoon at ONE 160, he feels he’s ready to dominate the welterweight division.

‘Landslide’ however, thinks that the 24-year-old superstar might be biting off more than he can chew. According to the Filipino martial artist, Abbasov’s strength and size might be a problem for someone who’s used to fighting at the 170lbs mark:

“I think Abbasov’s size advantage will be a huge factor going into the fight. Of course, Abbasov is a natural welterweight. Christian Lee, we all know, always wants to showcase his skills whenever he fights. He’s an incredible striker and a great grappler, but Abbasov is a specialist on the ground so this will be a great matchup.”

Back in February, Kiamrian Abbasov also moved up a weight class to challenge Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight world title. The power and strength imbalance was obvious from the get-go.

As much as Abbasov tried to defend the takedowns and outmaneuver the champion from the ground, he spent all three rounds pinned down to the mat.

So, Eduard Folayang’s reasoning is not far-fetched nor is it a biased opinion. Strength and size are the difference makers in this matchup. If Lee doesn’t come in with a good strategy, the fight will naturally go in the other direction.

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Eduard Folayang doesn’t discredit Christian Lee’s solid striking and ground game

Eduard Folayang has been wrong before, so he’s not entirely removing Christian Lee from the equation.

Lee is not your average mixed martial artist. The 24-year-old sensation is adept at learning new skills and incorporating those said skills at a high level.

Knowing that there is a size and weight differential, Folayang knows he won’t go inside the ring without a solid strategy.

In the same interview, Eduard Folayang continued to say:

“We’ll see how much of an advantage Abbasov’s size will be during the fight, but you can’t really discount the fact that Christian Lee is probably the most skillful fighter in the sport. This will be a really great match, don’t you think?”