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Two-division ONE world champion Christian Lee refused to allow Alibeg Rasulov to impose his will when they shared the ring at ONE Fight Night 26 last Dec. 6.
The undefeated 32-year-old entered the biggest fight of his career with a flawless 14-0 record, thanks to his overwhelming Dagestani-style wrestling.
'The Warrior', however, gave him a taste of his own medicine a few minutes into the match when he forced Rasulov to defend getting taken down from the clinch.
In turn, Christian Lee also thwarted the Turkish powerhouse's attempts to take the fight to the ground.
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It was quite a shock for Rasulov, considering he was able to manhandle everyone in his wake until he met the Singaporean-American superstar.
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In his ONE Fight Night 26 post-event interview with The Bangkok Post, Lee said his game plan was to keep the challenger on his heels through constant pressure with his striking and grappling.
"No, not surprised because I was able to shut his wrestling down by putting the pressure on him and then going for the takedown first."
With Rasulov unable to turn it into a grappling affair, he got pieced up on the feet by Lee's plethora of precise combinations.
Unfortunately for the lightweight MMA champ, he inadvertently poked Rasulov's eye. The Hyperion Fighters standout was unable to continue afterward and the match was ruled a no-contest.
Watch Christian Lee's full interview with Nick Atkin:
Christian Lee says eye poke vs Alibeg Rasulov was purely accidental
It seemed like Christian Lee was just starting to regain his groove when an ill-fated moment put an anticlimactic ending to his return fight.
'The Warrior' inadvertently threw a strike with an open palm in the second round, causing his finger to make contact with Rasulov's right eye.
With the Turkish challenger's right eye completely shut, officials deemed him unfit to continue. In his in-ring interview with Mitch Chilson, Lee apologized to his fans after his comeback fight ended prematurely.
"[He's] very tough. I'm sorry about the eye poke, it was completely unintentional. That's not how I wanted to fight to go."
The full replay of ONE Fight Night 26 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.
