Being able to win fights is one thing but being able to finish opponents in the first round is quite another. Christian Lee’s mixed martial arts (MMA) career is still in its infancy but the 17-year-old phenom has already put away three different fighters inside the opening five minutes.
He only made his pro debut last year but Lee is already a multiple time Pankration world champion and says that aggression has always been a big part of his game.
“I have always been an aggressive fighter. When I get in there to fight I have only one goal, and that’s to finish my opponent as quickly as possible.”
Pankration tournaments don’t attract much publicity but Lee has been thrust straight into the spotlight by Asia’s biggest MMA promotion. He’s competing at ONE: “Ascent to Power” this Friday (May 6, 2016) at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and a crowd in excess of 10,000 people is expected.
It’s a big step up for the teenager to make but he says the lessons he learned competing in submission grappling and Pankration have served him well.
“I treat it (professional MMA) exactly the same. The stakes are much higher but I still come in with the same focus and intensity as all of my past fights.”
He is going up against Cary Bullos on Friday, an experienced Filipino fighter who was a champion in his homeland before signing for ONE Championship. Sooner or later Lee will probably encounter an opponent good enough to go the distance with him but he doesn’t expect that this will be the week.
“I think Cary Bullos’s main strength is the fact that he goes out on his shield. In all of his fights he’s either finished his opponent or been finished, so I know that he’ll be coming for the kill.”
Lee is currently in Singapore training at Evolve MMA and he’s been picking up tips from one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
“This trip was the first time I was able to train alongside Rafael dos Anjos and it was a great experience. He is a very technical fighter and open to sharing all his knowledge with the team.”
Lee’s Father is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt and training for this fight has been a family affair.
“For this fight and all of my past fights, I have been trained by my head coach and Father Ken Lee at United MMA along with the guidance of all my fellow coaches and teammates at Evolve MMA.”
However he will not be the only Lee fighting at the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Friday night. His sister Angela is challenging for the inaugural women’s atomweight title in the main event and Christian says he plans to be cageside to cheer her on.
“Every time Angela and I fight, we are always in each other’s corner, no matter the circumstances. I can’t put into words how extremely proud I am of Angela. She has been my best friend and role model for as long as I can remember and I’m so excited to see her fight for that title.”
Lee is aiming to follow in his sister’s footsteps by challenging for a ONE Championship title but the featherweight division is stacked and for the time being he’s just happy to keep that perfect professional record intact.
“I would like to fight for that ONE belt as soon as possible, but my main goal is to continue racking up as many wins as possible until then.”