ONE Championship putting together worthy interim world title fights at welterweight and lightweight

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong will focus on piecing together the best matchups for an interim world title at welterweight and lightweight this year following Christian Lee’s decision to take the rest of the year off.

The lifelong martial artist revealed this during a ONE Fight Night 11 post-fight interview with South China Morning Post:

“I just spoke about putting together what are worthy fights for the interim title fight for the lightweight and the welterweight division. So I hope we can get it done in the next few months.”

Watch the full interview here:

In an exclusive interview with SCMP in early June, the ONE Championship head honcho said that the two-division king will return next year as he takes an extended break to grieve over the death of his sister and fellow MMA superstar Victoria Lee.

Christian Lee recaptured his lightweight crown in a rematch against Ok Rae Yoon at ONE 160 in August last year.

Following a unanimous decision loss in their first clash, the Singaporean-American superstar left no stone unturned when they ran it back. He finished the South Korean at the 1:00 mark of the second round with vicious knees and punches.

Less than three months later, ‘The Warrior’ dropped down a division to attain his second divisional strap in ONE, finishing Kiamrian Abbasov in the fourth round of their welterweight world championship bout. With Christian Lee away, two athletes that could be in for a shot at the interim strap are undefeated welterweight athlete Murad Ramazanov and former lightweight kingpin Ok.

Ramazanov last competed inside the ONE Championship Circle against Roberto Soldic in December 2022. The latter, meanwhile, returned to victory with a dominant performance against Lowen Tynanes at ONE Fight Night 10 this past May.