Christian Lee’s long-awaited return to action at ONE Fight Night 26 came to an abrupt end due to an unintentional foul in the second round.
Stepping into the main event spotlight inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Lee put his ONE lightweight MMA world championship on the line against undefeated Dagestani standout Alibeg Rasulov in the evening’s highly anticipated headliner. It would be Lee’s first time competing since a November 2022 knockout of Kiamrian Abbasov to become a two-division champion — adding the promotion’s welterweight title to his collection of gold.
Despite being away from the sport for more than two years, Lee didn’t appear to have any ring rust as he immediately caught Rasulov with a jab that knocked the Dagestani wrestler off balance. Much of the first five minutes saw Lee targeting Rasulov’s lead leg and looking to connect with his patented right hand.
Rasulov started to come alive in the second, repeatedly landing his own right hand, but his lead leg appeared to be compromised after Lee spent the majority of the first round targeting it. A closer look revealed that Rasulov had a rather nasty bruise just above his knee that was slightly obstructed by his fight gear.
As we approached the final 10 seconds of the second stanza, Lee inadvertently poked Rasulov in the eye during an exchange prompting referee Herb Dean to pause the bout. As Rasulov was checked in his corner, the ringside physician determined that he could no longer compete, forcing Dean to wave off the fight and rule it an anticlimactic no contest.
Official Result: Christian Lee vs. Alibeg Rasulov is ruled a no-contest after an inadvertent eye-poke in the second round.
Check out highlights from Christian Lee vs. Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 26:
CRISP combo from Christian Lee
Watch the full ONE Fight Night 26 event replay:
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 7, 2024
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Christian Lee and Alibeg Rasulov’s ONE Lightweight MMA World Title clash ends in a no contest after an inadvertent eye poke. Would you like to see a rematch?
Watch the full ONE Fight Night 26 event replay:
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 7, 2024