“I have a lot of respect for him” - Christian Lee pulling for Shinya Aoki to beat Cole Abate

Reigning and undisputed ONE lightweight and welterweight MMA world champion 'The Warrior' Christian Lee of the United States has expressed his support for former adversary and teammate 'Tobikan Judan' Shinya Aoki.

Lee defeated Aoki at ONE: Enter the Dragon in May of 2019 to capture the lightweight MMA gold for the very first time. It was a proverbial passing of the torch, as the Japanese legend relinquished the division's throne to the younger man.

Speaking to the Bangkok Post in a recent interview, Lee says he was pulling for Aoki to win his next bout this weekend.

'The Warrior' said:

"I'm not sure where he's headed to right now, but he's definitely an amazing martial artist and he's so talented, especially to be able to compete with the best guys in the world at the end of his career. It's just amazing, and shows how hard he's worked in his martial arts career. I have a lot of respect for him, hoping he wins."

Aoki is set to enter the submission grappling realm once again to face American star Cole Abate in the latter's ONE Championship debut.

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Christian Lee returns to action against Alibeg Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 26 on Prime Video

Two-division MMA champ 'The Warrior' Christian Lee is set to defend his ONE lightweight MMA world title against Turkey's Alibeg Rasulov.

The two will clash in the main event at ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Prime Video, which will air live in U.S. primetime this Friday, December 6. The event will take place at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and free with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates surrounding the event as it happens.