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Christian Lee believes Zebaztian Kadestam deserves the next ONE welterweight MMA title shot over Roberto Soldic. 'The Warrior,' a two-division MMA world champion at lightweight and welterweight, recently announced his next fight will be a title defense in the heavier weight class.
The welterweight division's title picture has become more complicated due to Kadestam defeating Soldic by knockout in May 2023. Kadestam hasn't fought since taking out Soldic. Meanwhile, Soldic bounced back with a highlight-reel knockout against Dagi Arslanaliev on Feb. 20.
During an interview with the Bangkok Post, Lee advocated for Kadestam to receive the title shot over Soldic:
"It’s hard to pass up Kadestam when he knocked out Soldic in their last fight. So I think it’s only right, rankings-wise that he would get the fight next. But you know, we’ll see. I’ll take any fight. So it’s up to ONE Championship."
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Kadestam, a former ONE welterweight MMA world champion, suffered three consecutive defeats between 2019 and 2021.
The 34-year-old Swedish contender ignored the outside noise and returned to prime form with successive knockout wins against Valmir Da Silva, Iuri Lapicus, and Roberto Soldic.
As for Soldic, he endured tough results in his first two promotional fights, a no-contest against Murad Ramazanov and a knockout loss against Zebaztian Kadestam, before securing his first win against Dagi Arslanaliev.
Check out Christian Lee's entire interview with the Bangkok Post below:
Christian Lee's rollercoaster of emotions timeline over last three years
In 2022, Christian Lee made history by becoming a two-division MMA world champion with title-winning knockouts against Ok Rae Yoon (lightweight) and Kiamrian Abbasov (welterweight).
The next two years would leave 'The Warrior' sidelined, as he focused on recovering from the tragic passing of his younger sister, Victoria Lee.
In December 2024, Lee made his highly anticipated return in a lightweight title defense against Alibeg Rasulov. The 26-year-old accidentally landed an eye poke in the second round, leading to a no-contest ending.
There were talks about Lee potentially facing Rasulov in an immediate rematch. Instead, the two-division world champion will avoid a heavier weight cut and defend his welterweight throne for the first time.
