Tag: Christian Lee

Christian Lee’s Return to ONE Championship Spoiled by Second-Round Eye Poke – ONE Fight Night 26 Highlights

Christian Lee's Return to ONE Championship Spoiled by Second-Round Eye Poke - ONE Fight Night 26 HighlightsChristian Lee’s long-awaited return to action at ONE Fight Night 26 came to an abrupt end due to an…

Christian Lee's Return to ONE Championship Spoiled by Second-Round Eye Poke - ONE Fight Night 26 Highlights

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.

27f6133d 6517 47c9 bcb8 296f8065977b 6d4a26eb

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:

Christian Lee Set To Defend Lightweight Title At ONE 169: Atlanta After Two-Year Hiatus

ONE lightweight and welterweight world champion Christian Lee is set to make his long-awaited return at ONE 169 on November 8 in Atlanta. He will be defending his lightweight title against the undefeated Alibeg Rasulov at the State Farm Arena in ONE Championship’s second US event of the year. Lee has been out of action […]

Continue Reading Christian Lee Set To Defend Lightweight Title At ONE 169: Atlanta After Two-Year Hiatus at MMA News.

ONE lightweight and welterweight world champion Christian Lee is set to make his long-awaited return at ONE 169 on November 8 in Atlanta.

He will be defending his lightweight title against the undefeated Alibeg Rasulov at the State Farm Arena in ONE Championship’s second US event of the year.

Lee has been out of action since winning the welterweight title at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November of 2022.

At the end of that year, tragedy struck the Lee family as Christian’s younger sister and former ONE Championship athlete, Victoria, took her own life. This led to her siblings, Christian and Angela, to take a break from the spotlight.

Christian’s elder sister Angela has since vacated her atomweight title and retired from MMA whilst his younger brother Adrian became the first of the Lee family to compete after Victoria’s passing, when he made his pro debut at ONE 167 in June.

Christian’s upcoming opponent, Turkey’s Rasulov, made his debut in ONE this past weekend at ONE Fight Night 23 where he won a unanimous decision after going five rounds with former champion Ok Rae Yoon.

Despite the interim lightweight title being on the line in this fight, Rasulov was unable to win the belt after he made weight but failed his hydration test.

The lightweight title fight joins two other previously announced world championship clashes on the card for November 8 in Atlanta.

In the main event, ONE three-weight world champion Anatoly Malykhin will defend his heavyweight title against Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane.

ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai will also be in action when he faces Jo Nattawut in a trilogy fight following their closely contested clash at ONE 167.

Read also: ONE Championship Three-Division Champion Anatoly Malykhin Reacts To Being Called ‘Most Dangerous’ By Islam Makhachev, Says No ‘Escape’ For Francis Ngannou

Continue Reading Christian Lee Set To Defend Lightweight Title At ONE 169: Atlanta After Two-Year Hiatus at MMA News.

ONE world champion Angela Lee is ‘likely not coming back’ to MMA after tragic loss of her sister, Victoria Lee

Angela LeeONE Championship’s first and only women’s atomweight world champion, Angela Lee, is likely done with MMA after the tragic loss of her sister Victoria Lee. The mixed martial arts community was in shock after Angela Lee revealed that her sister and ONE Championship prospect, Victoria Lee, had suddenly passed away in December. Since then, the […]

Angela Lee

ONE Championship’s first and only women’s atomweight world champion, Angela Lee, is likely done with MMA after the tragic loss of her sister Victoria Lee.

The mixed martial arts community was in shock after Angela Lee revealed that her sister and ONE Championship prospect, Victoria Lee, had suddenly passed away in December. Since then, the reigning atomweight queen along with her brother, two-division ONE world champion Christian Lee, have been absent from the promotion as they continue to mourn the loss of their little sister. The promotion has already made tentative plans to crown interim titleholders during their time away from competition, but according to ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong, Angela Lee may never return.

“Angela Lee is likely not coming back due to the loss of her sister,” Sityodtong said in a Facebook Watch video. “Christian Lee told me that he wants to come back. Stamp [Fairtex] and Seo Hee Ham will fight in August for the ONE atomweight championship.”

Neither Christian nor Angela Lee have addressed their fighting futures directly, but in a separate statement made to the South China Morning Post, Sityodgong confirmed that Christian Lee plans to take the rest of 2023 off before resuming his reign as both the ONE lightweight and welterweight world champion.

“I spoke to Christian, he wants to fight 100 percent but he will take the rest of the year off,” Sityodtong confirmed. “He will return next year. We will do interim title fights in both divisions this year to keep everything moving.”

Angela Lee and Her Family Are Among the Most Accomplished Fighters in MMA

Angela Lee (11-3) captured the inaugural women’s atomweight world title in May 2016 and is yet to relinquish the title, defending it four times since then. Lee has also been active in the strawweight division, challenging titleholder Xiong Jing Nan twice as part of a trilogy between the two women’s MMA icons. Lee came up short of becoming a dual-champ in both attempts where the strawweight title was on the line.

Her brother, Christian Lee, reclaimed the ONE lightweight world title in August 2022, defeating Ok Rae Yoon in an emphatic fashion at ONE 160. Three months later, Lee claimed the welterweight crown in a Fight of the Year contender with Kiamrian Abbasov. Lee scored a fourth-round TKO after nearly being finished in the opening round to capture his second ONE world championship.

Before her untimely passing, Victoria Lee was one of the promotion’s hottest prospects, winning three fights inside the ONE Circle before graduating high school. Lee, appropriately nicknamed ‘The Prodigy’, opted to take time away from competing to focus on her final year of high school. Graduating in May 2022, Lee was planning to make her ONE Championship return in 2023.

ONE CEO Unsure Of Christian & Angela Lee’s Future After Sister’s Tragic Death

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong feels it’s a possibility that Christian and Angela Lee might not fight again after their sister Victoria’s death. Victoria passed away last month at just 18 years old. A cause of death hasn’t been made public…

ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong feels it’s a possibility that Christian and Angela Lee might not fight again after their sister Victoria’s death. Victoria passed away last month at just 18 years old. A cause of death hasn’t been made public, but the MMA community continues to mourn her passing. Victoria was expected to be a…

Continue Reading ONE CEO Unsure Of Christian & Angela Lee’s Future After Sister’s Tragic Death at MMA News.

ONE Championship Fighter Victoria Lee Dead, Age 18

The MMA world has suffered a major blow, as young prospect Victoria Lee has tragically passed away. Hawaiian MMA prodigy and sister of ONE champions Angela and Christian Lee, Victoria was well on her way to carving her own path in the world of MMA. At …

The MMA world has suffered a major blow, as young prospect Victoria Lee has tragically passed away. Hawaiian MMA prodigy and sister of ONE champions Angela and Christian Lee, Victoria was well on her way to carving her own path in the world of MMA. At just 18 years old, she has already earned several…

Continue Reading ONE Championship Fighter Victoria Lee Dead, Age 18 at MMA News.

Islam Makhachev balks at crossover fight offer from ONE Championship titleholder Christian Lee

Islam MakhachevRecently minted undisputed UFC lightweight titleholder, Islam Makhachev, has urged recently minted ONE championship welterweight champion and reigning lightweight titleholder, Christian Lee to focus on his next fight, rather than calling for a bout against him, after Lee urged Makhachev to book a matchup to determine the best lightweight on the planet.  Makhachev, the current […]

Islam Makhachev

Recently minted undisputed UFC lightweight titleholder, Islam Makhachev, has urged recently minted ONE championship welterweight champion and reigning lightweight titleholder, Christian Lee to focus on his next fight, rather than calling for a bout against him, after Lee urged Makhachev to book a matchup to determine the best lightweight on the planet. 

Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion under the UFC banner, clinched the Octagon crown back at UFC 280 last month against Brazilian finisher, Charles Oliveira, securing a second round arm-triangle submission win.

Off the back of the victory, the Makhachkala native has been booked to make main event honors at UFC 284 in February against undisputed featherweight best, Alexander Volkanovski in Perth, Australia.

As for Lee, the Canadian-born duel-weight titleholder, won the ONE Championship lightweight belt back in 2019 against Shinya Aoki, before scoring two successful title defenses against Iuri Lapicus, and then Timofey Nastyukin. 

Dropping the title via decision to Ok Rae Yoon, Lee would then score a second round knockout over Ok in the immediate title rematch to reclaim the throne, before minting himself as a two-weight champion with a recent fourth round knockout win over Kiamrian Abbasov – winning the welterweight crown.

Christian Lee calls for a fight with UFC titleholder, Islam Makhachev

Recently calling for a fight against Makhachev in a cross-over matchup, Lee touted himself as the best lightweight on the planet right now.

”I saw a recent video where a fellow competitor over in the UFC, Islam Makhachev, called me out,” Christian Lee said following his welterweight title win. “He’s inviting me over to the UFC to fight him for his lightweight title. I would love to make that fight happen. Let’s see it. Let’s do a cross-promotion event: lightweight world champion from UFC against lightweight world champion from ONE Championship. We’ll see who’s the real best lightweight in the world.”

“Right now, I’m the lightweight world champion (and) the welterweight world champion,” Christian Lee explained. “I want to fight the best of the best. So whoever that may be. … A potential crossover fight between UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, that’s definitely an exciting fight. But we’ll see where it goes. I’m keeping my options and just whatever I could do to challenge myself.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)

Balking at a potential crossover pairing with Lee, Makahchev urged the duel-weight champion to focus on his next challenger within the Chatri Sityodtong-led ONE Championship banner.

“Ha!” Islam Makhachev tweeted in response to Christian Lee. “You better focus on your next contender Saygid Izagakhmaev, and we will see how good you are (winking face emoji).”