Christian Lee says Shinya Aoki is the toughest grappler he’s ever fought: “He was able to use that and take me down”

Double ONE world champion Christian Lee has fought some of the toughest fighters in the game in nearly 10 years in ONE Championship, including grapplers. But he said none compares to Japanese legend Shinya Aoki, who he considers as the toughest grappler he has fought so far.

'The Warrior' shared this in a recent interview on the DeWar Report by Val Dewar podcast, recalling how 'Tobikan Judan' made full use of his crisp grappling skills to make it tough for him in their MMA title showdown in May 2019.

Christian Lee said:

"It's hard... but I would say, as a grappler, in MMA, Shinya definitely has one of the best MMA takedowns. He was able to use that and take me down in the fights."

Check out what he had to say below:

Christian Lee took on Aoki at ONE: Enter the Dragon for the ONE lightweight MMA world title in the possession then of the veteran Japanese fighter.

The Singapore-American warrior had to labor through a variety of submission looks throughout the opening round, including a solid armbar from Aoki which nearly forced a tap out.

In the second round, however, Lee made sure he defended better his opponent's takedowns while making use of his versatile striking. He caught Aoki with a flurry of punches and never relented after to score the TKO win and seize the lightweight gold.

---

Christian Lee happy to be back competing

Christian Lee made his long-awaited return to competition on Dec. 6 at ONE Fight Night 26 in Thailand. While it abruptly ended and declared a no contest, he basked in the opportunity to do what he does after two years on the sidelines.

The ONE lightweight MMA world champion defended his title against undefeated Turkish challenger Alibeg Rasulov in the headlining contest at ONE Fight Night 26 held at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. It was his first appearance after taking a two-year self-imposed break to mourn the untimely passing of younger sister and fellow ONE fighter Victoria Lee in December 2022.

Christian Lee hardly showed ring rust in his return, taking the fight with a lot of success to Rasulov. However, as he was angling to take his push to higher gear he accidentally poked the eye of his opponent late in the second round. After being checked on, Rasulov was ruled unable to continue and the fight declared a no contest, with Lee retaining his title.

'The Warrior' spoke about how he felt competing again, telling the post-event press conference:

"It felt great to be back in action. It was almost two years since I was last in there, and I felt good moving around the ring."

The full replay of ONE Fight Night 26 is available on demand to Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.