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South Korean superstar Ok Rae Yoon hasn't worn the ONE lightweight world title around his waist for very long, but already, he's had to fight immense adversity.
Rae Yoon secured a close and controversial five-round unanimous decision victory over former lightweight division king Christian 'The Warrior' Lee. The man they call the 'Legend Killer' had to defend his performance and explain why he thought he deserved the win.
The 30-year-old Team MAD representative from Busan believes he beat Christian Lee, despite many arguing otherwise. Speaking at the post-fight interview, Ok Rae Yoon shared his thoughts on the victory. He said:
“I believe I won the fight and you know, it is what it is. I don’t know what to say. At the end of the day, if you talk about damages and clear shots, clear shots landed. I believe I landed more and I gave more damage and I believe that’s why my hand was raised. I really don’t get why there’s controversy regarding the decision because I think I clearly won the fight, and if Christian Lee wants to have a rematch, sure, we can do the rematch right away.”
Christian Lee strongly believes the decision should have gone his way. The 23-year-old, now former champion, was adamant in demanding a formal review of the fight in hopes of getting the decision overturned.
Ok Rae Yoon says Christian Lee shouldn't meddle with the judges' decision
Ok Rae Yoon feels it's a slippery slope, allowing fighters to dictate these sorts of terms. The South Korean lightweight stalwart says that professional athletes should have no say in how a particular fight is scored and judged and that it should be left to the experts observing the action from cageside.
If anything, Ok Rae Yoon believes Christian Lee should have tried for a more decisive finish rather than leave the result at the hands of the judges.
“The judges gave all the scores already, I won in a unanimous decision. I think it is what it is and if ever any kind of athlete or fighter can get involved in any kind of decision or scoring system, I think that’s wrong so I don’t think that’s going to happen because ONE Championship is a huge company and the decision is already official. I don’t think anything is going to happen with that. I’m kind of disappointed, I don’t think this is a beautiful thing to see, what Christian Lee is doing. If he really wanted to win that badly, he should have dominated me more.”
Nevertheless, Ok Rae Yoon says Christian Lee deserves a rematch based on his dominance of the lightweight division alone.
Heading into this fight, Ok Rae Yoon was the only man in the top five at lightweight that Christian Lee had not yet defeated. The South Korean agrees that there really isn't a clear next challenger for the title apart from the Singaporean-American.
It was a grueling affair for both men, and they will both need time to deal with the injuries they sustained in such a close contest. As soon as they can return to full health, ONE Championship would best be served to put the rematch together immediately. This fight left a lot more questions than answers, and fans deserve a more conclusive ending.
