Reigning ONE dual champion, Christian Lee, is set to return to fighting much sooner than expected. He appeared at the ONE 167 as a coach alongside his young brother Adrian Lee. ‘The Phenom’ won his debut fight in the second round after submitting Antonio Mammarella. However, it now seems Christian is also ready to return if the opportunity arises.

The 25-year-old captured the lightweight title in August after he made an easy work of Ok Rae Yoon. Then at ONE Prime 4, he defeated Kiamrian “Brazen” Abbasov in the fourth round via TKO to win the welterweight title. Since then the dual champion has been out of action.

Christian Lee is willing to defend his title later this year

However, now it seems Christian is excited about an upcoming clash. While speaking to the South China Morning Post, he said, “Yeah I have been watching the lightweight and welterweight divisions.”

The upcoming event on July 5 ONE Championship will take place at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. One of the biggest attractions of the night is the co-main event between Ok Rae Yoon and Alibeg Rasulov. This is also the fight Christian is keeping an eye on.

“Right now I think we got a clear-cut Contender with the Ok Rae Yoon and Alibeg matchup. Definitely I think that’s the number one ranked contender spot for the lightweight division. So I’ll be watching that closely. And we’ll see if I can get that. If I can defend my belt sometime within the end of the year I’d be very happy to do so,” Christian added.

Christian is currently waiting for his next fight and it will be interesting to see whom he faces next. The reigning dual champion has been out of action for over a year. But he has always shown willingness to defend his title in both divisions.

Christian Lee wants to defend his title in both divisions

Christian Lee took a break from fighting after he suffered a personal setback as his sister Victoria Lee tragically ended her life in 2022. Before this tragic incident, Lee had no plans of stopping and had set high standards for himself. One of his biggest aspirations is to defend his title in both divisions. He has, however, made it clear that he has no particular opponent in mind whom he wants to defend his title against.

Chatri Sityodtong, the CEO of One Championship, had hinted in one of his interviews last year that Christian was starting to train again and was ready to make a comeback. He had even marked February 2024 as the comeback month for Christian. But it seems the fans will have to wait longer to witness the 25-year-old in action.

When will Christian Lee make a return to defend his title? Let us know in the comments below.