WATCH: The unfortunate no-contest end to the brewing barnburner between Christian Lee and Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 26

ONE lightweight MMA world champion Christian Lee made his long-awaited return to action last week but unfortunately it ended prematurely after he accidentally poked the eye of his opponent Alibeg Rasulov in the second round.

'The Warrior' returned to competition to defend the lightweight gold at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6 at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It was his first fight back after a two-year self-imposed break to mourn the untimely passing of his younger sister and fellow ONE Championship fighter Victoria Lee in December 2022.

Lee hardly showed rust in his comeback, taking the fight to Rasulov and having early success. But just as he was angling to take his push to another level, he inadvertently poked the eye of the Turkish fighter in the closing seconds of the second stanza.

The contest was immediately stopped to give Rasulov time to gather himself from the poke. But after checking on him and a brief discussion with officials, it was ruled that he would not be able to continue, leaving the outcome of the match a no-contest. Despite what happened, Christian Lee still retained the world title.

ONE Championship posted a video on Instagram of the unfortunate event that led to the abrupt end of the Lee-Rasulov contest so fans could get a better idea of the severity of the incident and the tough decision that had to be made afterward.

Check out the video below:

After the incident, Christian Lee, who also holds the ONE welterweight MMA world title, consoled and apologized to Rasulov just as he underscored that he did not want the fight to end in such a manner.

Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada can watch the full replay of ONE Fight Night 26 on demand.

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Christian Lee looking forward to what is next for him after abrupt end to ONE Fight Night 26 match

While disappointed over what happened in his return to action at ONE Fight Night 26 on Dec. 6, Christian Lee said he is moving on and looking forward to what is next for him in ONE Championship.

He shared this immediately after the no-contest ruling in his title showdown with Alibeg Rasulov last week, hinting at continuing to defend both the ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world titles in his possession.

He told veteran ONE analyst Mitch Chilson in the post-fight interview:

"Other than Rasulov, there are a lot of other great fighters out here in ONE Championship and you know, I think in the welterweight division, there's a clear contender who's in line for the shot. So we'll see what ONE Championship's plans are for me but I'll be ready to defend the lightweight and welterweight belt in the future."

Lee reclaimed the lightweight belt in August 2022 then claimed the vacant welterweight championship belt three months later to become a double world champion.