“I’m Going To Have My Work Cut Out for Me”- Christian Lee Is Keeping a Keen Eye on the Rise of New Lightweight Contenders

Christian “The Warrior” Lee is deep into his preparations for his ONE Welterweight World Title bout versus Kiamrian “Brazen” Abbasov in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 4 on Friday, November 18.

But the ONE Lightweight World Champion is still keeping close tabs on the progress and evolution of the stars within his division, knowing that he’ll be planning to defend his crown after his upcoming battle for two-division glory.

Over the years, Lee has outclassed most of the ranked lightweight fighters, including Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki, Dagi Arslanaliev, Timofey Nastyukhin, and Ok Rae Yoon, leaving him confident that he can take out anyone at 170lbs.

Nonetheless, he has noticed ONE’s new acquisitions into the already-stacked weight class, and he’s fired up at the thought of fresh competition.

Christian Lee termed MMA as a fast-moving sport

“Of course, I did say that I cleared out the lightweight division. But MMA is just such a fast-moving sport. As soon as you clear out the division, it cycles through, and you get a whole new set of contenders. So, I think that’s what we’re starting to see now in the lightweight division,” the 24-year-old said.

A couple of names that have caught the Singaporean-American superstar’s eye are Turkish newcomer Halil Amir and Dagestani grappling sensation Saygid Izagakhmaev. Amir knocked out former lightweight gold contender Nastyukhin in his debut at ONE on Prime Video 2, and Izagakhmaev has put in two strong performances, against Zhang Lipeng and James Nakashima, this year alone.

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Izagakhmaev’s victories earned him the #4-ranked spot, while Amir now finds himself as the #3-ranked contender, with only Arslanaliev (2) and Ok (1) ahead of him.

Christian Lee lauds the newcomers but backs his ability

“The Warrior” believes both newcomers have the skill set to fight their way to the top of the ranking and provide stiff competition in a five-round war. But, as always, Lee warns that he will be ready for whatever challenge lies next. 

“Halil Amir, yeah, he had a great performance. And then Saygid [Izagakhmaev], I’ve been watching him since he joined the promotion. I think if he gets a good win over Shinya, he’s going to be next in line for the title, and with Amir too, getting that knockout over Timofey puts him right on the rankings. And he could be the next guy in line for a title after Saygid,” he said.

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“Definitely, I know that I’m going to have my work cut out for me when I go back to defend my lightweight title. But as of right now, I’m excited about this move up to welterweight.”

Fans in the U.S. and Canada can watch ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee live for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.