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Some fans and pundits alike are sleeping on Kiamrian Abbasov in his upcoming ONE welterweight world title defense against Christian Lee, and that’s just bad judgment.
The gargantuan matchup between the pair of world champions headlines ONE on Prime Video 4, which takes place this Friday, November 18, inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It will air live on US Primetime and is available for free to Amazon Prime Video subscribers.
Sure, it’s hard to side against Lee, considering he’s been on a rampage as of late. The one-sided beatdown of Ok Rae Yoon in his last bout certainly warranted him a shot at second-divisional supremacy.
However, Kiamrian Abbasov won’t be surrendering his throne that easily. Despite his dominant run as world champion at 185 lbs, ‘Brazen’ does not always get the credit he is due. Maybe that all changes if Abbasov can beat the Singaporean-American and send him back to the lightweight division.
Today, we’ll be listing three reasons why Kiamrian Abbasov will retain his world title and deny Christian Lee’s bid to become a dual-world champion.
#3. Kiamrian Abbasov’s grueling wrestling will be a handful for Christian Lee
Abbasov’s elite Greco-Roman wrestling background allowed for a smooth transition to mixed martial arts. The Kyrgyzstani-Russian fighter, who has 23 wins in 28 career fights, brings forth relentless pressure on his opponents with his punishing grappling-heavy style.
‘Brazen’ is a master at trapping his foes near the circle wall. From there, he often rag-dolls them to the ground with his well-timed trips and powerful throws.
Abbasov tires his challengers out by making them carry his weight for long periods of time. Once he sees them drowning in deep waters, he finishes them off with some brutal ground and pound or by submission.
It is worth noting that the world champion has a significant size advantage over Lee. While ‘The Warrior’ is a respectable grappler himself, he has never faced a wrestler of this caliber or size. There’s a high chance Lee will be fighting the majority of this fight on his back, and we’ll see if he can mount any offense of his own from down there.
#2. Kiamrian Abbasov has a wealth of experience fighting at his natural weight class
Lee is no stranger to jumping weight classes since he started at featherweight before becoming the king of the lightweights. A jump to the welterweight division, however, is a pretty steep climb.
He’ll have no grace period whatsoever since he’ll be fighting the best 185-pound fighter right off the bat. Lee’s venture into uncharted waters pits him against the biggest shark in the division, who has already conquered formidable adversaries during his reign at welterweight.
After losing his ONE debut, Abbasov made a statement by submitting Agilan Thani and starching Yushin Okami with ground and pound. Let’s not forget the grappling masterclass he displayed in his gold strap-winning performance against Zebaztian Kadestam and come-from-behind victory against James Nakashima.
Abbasov already knows the ins and outs of the 185-pound division, which is his natural weight class. He also fell short in his bid to beat ONE middleweight world champion, Reinier de Ridder.
That left a sour taste in his mouth, and hence, won't allow a fighter from a lower weight class to take what’s his without a fight.
#1. Kiamrian Abbasov has never been knocked out in his MMA career
Lee is arguably the best finisher in ONE Championship, with only one of his 16 career wins going the distance. The 24-year-old superstar has 11 victories by knockout and an astonishing 94% finishing rate.
Then again, ‘Brazen’ has 28 professional fights under his belt and has never been knocked out once. Abbasov’s relentless style of constant pressure is made possible by his insane durability and a granite chin. We’ve also seen the Russian's ability to weather adversity in his world title defense against previously unbeaten James Nakashima.
Abbasov took the American’s best shots and overcame a busted-up nose to deliver a devastating knee to Nakashima’s face in round four. He then pummeled the challenger to oblivion and retained his world title. Kiamrian Abbasov is a world-class talent, and it would be unwise to overlook him against Christian Lee at ONE on Prime Video 4.
Relive Abbasov’s epic battle with Nakashima below:
