“We saw his striking get exposed” - Christian Lee favors himself against Khabib Nurmagomedov protege Saygid Izagakhmaev

Christian Lee believes he has the tools to take out any lightweight in the world, including fighters as fearsome as Saygid Izagakhmaev. The former ONE lightweight world champion feels he has what it takes to defeat Khabib Nurmagomedov's protege.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Lee commented on Izagakhmaev’s submission victory over James Nakashima earlier this year. He went on to break down the Russian sensation’s fighting style, saying:

“I saw him fight. And you know, it's impressive. He's a very big lightweight. And I think that he's strong. I think that he's got a good ground game. But we saw his striking get exposed in his fight against James Nakashima.”

Following his successful ONE Championship debut in January, Izagakhmaev proceeded to call out the top fighters in the lightweight division. He name-dropped Eddie Alvarez, the former UFC lightweight champion, and Sage Northcutt, one of the most popular stars in the promotion.

He also called for a fight against Shinya Aoki, the former ONE lightweight world champion. Christian Lee, who beat Aoki for the world title, gave his thoughts on a potential matchup between the former champ and the surging Russian. He added:

“So I think for his next fight, he's going to look to just go straight to the ground. He's calling out Shinya. And that's a very tough matchup, but it's going to be exciting. It really will be his first big test. So we'll see how well he does in that match.”

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Christian Lee is gunning for Ok Rae Yoon rematch

Christian Lee reigned over the ONE lightweight division for over two years. However, he lost the belt to South Korea’s Ok Rae Yoon in late 2021.

The 23-year-old Singaporean-American from Mililani, Hawaii, says he will beat Saygid Izagakhmaev in pursuit of a rematch with the champion. 'The Warrior', during the same interview with ONE Championship, said:

“I'm very confident that I have the skill set to beat any lightweight in the world. And I don't think it'd be any different in my matchup against Saygid if we ever square off. You know, he's a good wrestler. But he doesn't have a complete mixed martial arts skill set. And you know, simply I believe that I would finish him.”

Lee's championship bout against Rae Yoon went down at ONE Championship: Revolution. The duo engaged in a closely contested affair before the judges handed the challenger a unanimous decision victory.

In the immediate aftermatch of their fight, Lee called the judges' decision "bullsh*t" and has been gunning for a rematch since. He added:

“No, you know, for me, Ok Rae Yoon, he, you know, he stated clearly after the fight that he wants to give me the rematch, he feels that I do deserve it. And for me, I clearly want a rematch. So you know, other than that there's no bad blood between us. I respect his hard work. And, you know, I respect him as a fighter. When we go in there, I'm going to be going to get my belt back and it's simple for me. This is just business.”