ONE Championship to institute interim world titles for Christian Lee’s lightweight and welterweight belts

Following the unexpected tragic passing of ONE Championship atomweight Victoria Lee last December, her older siblings Angela and Christian Lee immediately put a halt to their careers and went into mourning. They haven’t competed since, and haven’t even talked about making a return to action, until recently.

ONE Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong said he had a recent discussion with the Lee family, and while he is unsure if Angela will return to resume her career, he did say Christian had confirmed to him he eventually wants to come back to fight again.

In the meantime, however, Sityodtong says he got Christian’s blessing to create an interim world title in his absence.

In a recent interview with South China Morning Post, Sityodtong revealed what he and Christian had spoken about.

The Thai-Japanese entrepreneur said:

“I spoke to Christian two days ago and he blessed everything [creation of interim belts]. I hadn’t talked to him about work stuff since Victoria’s passing. It was our first work talk.”

Fans miss seeing Christian Lee, the reigning ONE lightweight and welterweight world champion, in action. They may get to see him inside the Circle once more in 2024.

Meanwhile, fans craving ONE Championship action can check out all the action at ONE Fight Night 11: Eersel vs. Menshikov on Prime Video this week.

The event broadcasts live from the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, June 9, and will stream absolutely free to fans in the United States and Canada with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the updates on ONE Fight Night 11 as we deliver news to fans straight from the source.