ONE Championship: 3 Stars Who Deserves a Shot at Christian Lee’s Lightweight Crown

ONE Championship superstar Christian “The Warrior” Lee has found himself back on top of the lightweight mountain after an impressive performance in the main showdown of ONE 160 last month. 

The United MMA and Evolve standout put on one of his best performances inside the Circle when he shut down defending king OK Rae Yoon in their highly anticipated rematch to reclaim the ONE Lightweight World Title. 

Christian Lee made a statement to recapture ONE Championship gold

With the win, “The Warrior” took his professional record to 16-4, and all but one of those wins have come by either submission or knockout. His defeat of Ok also meant that Lee has wiped out a large chunk of the stacked division.

That said, there are a number of potential suitors deserving of a shot at the Singaporean-American dynamo – and here they are. 

Dagi Arslanaliev

Dagi Arslanaliev has shown that he can battle with the best of them across multiple areas of the game, and this was made abundantly clear in his most recent outing in the Circle. 

The #2-ranked lightweight contender looked solid on the canvas against a valiant Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE: WINTER WARRIORS last December, and the fire in his fists helped him score a decisive third-round victory in the end. 

Arslanaliev would love to get his hands on “The Warrior” again after slipping to a disappointing unanimous decision loss against the new World champion when they squared off in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Championship Final in 2019.

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He has been waiting for a shot at the divisional gold since then, and with eight wins throughout his tenure in ONE, it’s about time he got his shot. 

Saygid Izagakhmaev

Saygid Izagakhmaev may be relatively new to the promotion, but his savage debut sent a message to the entire lightweight division.

The Russian phenom forced a tap from American star James Nakashima at ONE: HEAVY HITTERS in January to claim his 13th submission win in 22 fights and grab the #5 spot in the divisional rankings in the process. 

What won the hearts of the audience most of all, however, was the newcomer’s ability to maintain a high level of aggression from the opening bell right up to the match-winning choke.

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Lee would love to show his mettle on the canvas against Izagakhmaev, who is MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov’s training partner and protege. 

“The Warrior” has made a name for himself for never turning down an interesting grappling battle, which is why this match could be the option that interests the lightweight king the most.

Yoshihiro Akiyama

Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama may not own a spot in the rankings like the other stars on this list, but his veteran status and string of impressive wins make him an easy choice for a spot on this list of potential lightweight World Title contenders.

And if he can dish out a similar display of grit, determination, and intelligence as he did when he overpowered Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki at ONE X in March, this fight would be a barnburner.

Akiyama has enjoyed a long career at the helm of the sport, and now seems like the perfect time for him to battle at the top of the lightweight mountain. 

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He would, however, have to be much more cautious with his striking and grappling against a certified finisher like Lee.