Christian Lee understands the opportunity he is being presented with at ONE on Prime Video 4.
Lee has a massive opportunity on November 18. The ONE lightweight world champion is looking to become a two-division world champion by taking Kiamrian Abbasov’s welterweight throne. During an interview with The MMA Super-Fan, ‘The Warrior’ had this to say about fighting Abbasov:
“This fight is a big opportunity for me, and I’m grateful that ONE Championship has allowed me to move up to welterweight and get a shot at the belt. Right now, I’m not really thinking of anything else than working as hard as I can to claim that title.”
There have only been three ONE Championship fighters to become two-division MMA champions - Reinier De Ridder, Aung La N Sang, and Martin Nguyen. Lee could join that exclusive list by taking out the reigning welterweight king, but moving up a weight class is no easy challenge.
Abbasov, who is 4-1 in the division, certainly knows this to be true. ‘Brazen’ also tried to become the fourth two-division world champion earlier this year by challenging Reinier de Ridder for the middleweight crown, but was dominated spectacularly by ‘The Dutch Knight.’
He will look to do the same when he defends his place against Lee on November 18.
Watch the full interview with Christian Lee below:
Christian Lee describes welterweight title opportunity as "too big of a moment" to pass on
Christian Lee last fought against Ok Rae Yoon in August, where he reclaimed the ONE lightweight world title with a brutal second-round finish caused by a barrage of knees.
‘The Warrior’ was expected to take some time off to recover, but when he found out he could be competing for the welterweight title just three months later; he couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.
During the same interview, Lee had this to say about taking the chance to become a two-division champion:
“Well, initially, after claiming my title back, it sounded really nice to take some time off. But an opportunity like this is really just too big of a moment to let it just pass me by. And fighting for a second world title in a second weight division has always been a dream of mine since I started this sport.”
Christian’s sister, Angela Lee, recently tried to become a two-division champion in ONE Championship but failed to claim the women’s strawweight crown from Xiong Jing Nan. Christian Lee could become the first Lee sibling to become a two-division champion by making history at ONE on Prime Video 4.
