“I would have gotten the finish” - Christian Lee insists he was about to break Alibeg Rasulov before unfortunate eye poke

Christian Lee believes he was on his way to finishing Alibeg Rasulov before their highly anticipated headliner ended unexpectedly.

Competing for the first time in more than two years, 'The Warrior' was bound and determined to remind the world why he is one of ONE Championship's most prolific finishers at ONE Fight Night 26. Sadly, the defending ONE lightweight MMA world champion never got the chance to put away Rasulov after delivering an inadvertent eye poke to the Dagestani during the waning seconds of the second round.

After being looked at by the ringside physician, the bout was ultimately called off and ruled a no-contest, much to the chagrin of Lee and fight fans watching from around the world.

Speaking with the Bangkok Post shortly after the event, Lee expressed disappointment in how things played out, believing he was well on his way toward bagging another highlight-reel finish before the unintentional foul brought things to a crashing halt:

"Absolutely not [how I wanted the fight to end]. I was looking for a finish and I do believe that if the fight continued I would have gotten the finish."

Check out the full interview below:

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Could Christian Lee handle business at welterweight before booking Rasulov rematch?

With a lack of resolution between Christian Lee and Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 26, chances are we'll see the two run it back sometime in 2025 to settle things once and for all.

However, with Lee currently reigning as both the ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion, 'The Warrior' is leaving the door open for a potential return to the latter weight class before ultimately running it back with Rasulov:

"We’ll see what ONE Championship has in mind, what Chatri wants to do. There are two divisions that I’m [ruling]. So if it’s not a rematch at lightweight or a new opponent, then I’ll be looking to defend at welterweight, so doesn’t matter to me."

Should Lee jump right into a rematch with Rasulov, or would you rather see him put the welterweight MMA world title on the line first?

If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 26 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.