“We’ll see what Christian Lee is really made of” - Team Lakay coach Mark Sangiao says Christian Lee will be tested against Kiamrian Abbasov

Following his sister's path, Christian Lee will also attempt to move up in weight to become a two-division world champion. He’ll fight welterweight powerhouse Kiamrian Abbasov later this month, looking to set the Russian's belt alongside his own lightweight title.

One man who has coached several fighters to world championships is Team Lakay founder Mark Sangiao. A lynchpin of Filipino MMA, Sangiao spoke to ONE Championship about his thoughts and prediction for the fight between the two world champions:

“We’ll see what Christian Lee is really made of against Kiamrian Abbasov. I’m siding with the world champion on this one and I predict a knockout win for Kiamrian Abbasov.”

A knockout for Abbasov certainly wouldn’t be surprising, seeing as though he’s also knocked out resilient foes like Yushin Okami and James Nakashima in ONE. Abbasov used to fight as heavy as 205lbs. With that said, fighting 'Brazen' will likely be the most dangerous test of Christian Lee’s career thus far.

The two will fight in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 4, which goes down on November 18 in Singapore. The event will stream on Amazon Prime Video in US primetime.

Abbasov also recently moved up in weight to challenge for another belt. He was submitted by middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Reinier de Ridder this past February at ONE: Full Circle.

Christian Lee will no doubt be rewatching that fight to look for holes in Abbasov’s grappling that he can exploit.

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Eduard Folayang assesses who has the advantage in Christian Lee vs. Kiamrian Abbasov

Eduard Folayang, a student and fellow coach alongside Mark Sangiao, also gave his thoughts on the main event of ONE on Prime Video 4.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Folayang said:

“I think Abbasov’s size advantage will be a huge factor going into the fight. Of course, Abbasov is a natural welterweight. Christian Lee, we all know, always wants to showcase his skills whenever he fights. He’s an incredible striker and a great grappler, but Abbasov is a specialist on the ground so this will be a great matchup.”

After dropping his first fight in ONE Championship, Abbasov went on a tear that saw him win the welterweight world championship in 2019. Lee, by contrast, is in his second rule on the lightweight throne, having avenged a loss to Ok Rae Yoon in August.

The American Lee certainly carries some family pressure after his sister, Angela Lee, unsuccessfully tried to win a world championship in a higher weight not once, but twice.

With Christian now stepping up to the plate against a dangerous champion in the prime of his career, he has a real chance to elevate himself to a pound-for-pound great with a win.