“A fight I enjoy looking back at” - Christian Lee says Shinya Aoki nearly broke his arm before he got the TKO

Former ONE lightweight world champion 'The Warrior' Christian Lee is a rarity in the sport. At the tender age of 17, Lee signed with ONE and ran roughshod in its featherweight and lightweight divisions. Yes, we're not kidding.

Lee was barely an adult when he started making statements in the biggest martial arts organization in the world and notched a 5-0 record in his freshman year.

The young lion didn't start in smaller, regional promotions. He went straight to the big leagues. After compiling a 9-1 win-loss record, Lee challenged Martin Nguyen for the ONE featherweight (145lbs) world title but came up short via a narrow split decision.

Almost a year after his title shot loss, Christian Lee went up to lightweight (170lbs) to fight MMA legend Shinya Aoki. The bout was one of the best comeback underdog wins in ONE history.

Speaking to Andrew Whitelaw for Sportskeeda MMA, Lee looked back at his epic win against the Japanese legend, which he admits is his favorite win in ONE Championship.

Christian Lee said:

"I think for me still, one of my favorite fights was winning the title against Shinya Aoki. You know, that was a fight where I was stepping up from the featherweight division. I was the underdog in training, you know. He's submitted me 100 times. And, you know, that was a fight that many people thought I couldn't win.

And I went out there, and I showed that I could. I got him the knockout in the second round after nearly having my arm broken in the first. So, definitely, that was a fun fight for me. Looking back after, it wasn't too fun at the moment, but you know, definitely, that's a fight I enjoy looking back at."

Winning the title in such an epic and dramatic fashion is truly something to look at with a smile. It's crazy to think that Lee was just 20 years old when he did it. Now that he's 24, 'The Warrior' still has a lot of mileage in him to make more epic moments like that.

Watch the interview below:

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Christian Lee will rematch Ok Rae Yoon for the ONE lightweight world title at ONE 160

Christian Lee lost his ONE lightweight strap in a close decision against Korean sensation Ok Rae Yoon last year. The bout was extremely close, with Lee protesting the outcome:

An immediate rematch was set, but it took almost a year to come together. On August 26, at ONE 160, the two lightweight powerhouses will collide once more to finally settle the score.

Ok will want to prove that his win was no fluke, while Lee will be out to make a statement that the first fight's decision was a mistake. There's a lot of respect between the fighters, but the tension and intensity on this one are through the roof.