ONE Championship: Christian Lee Looks Back On Epic Comeback Win Over Kiamrian Abbasov

Singapore, December 20: Christian Lee delivered another unforgettable performance inside the ONE Championship Circle in November to cement his place among the best point-for-pound mixed martial artists on the planet.

"The Warrior" stepped up a weight class to challenge welterweight king Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE Fight Night 4, attempting to make history as the youngest two-division titleholder in mixed martial arts.

Lee overcame a devastating barrage from the Kyrgyz star in the first round to stop him in the fourth and add the ONE Welterweight World Title to his lightweight strap.

Despite the incredible win, when refelcting on the epic clash, the Singaporean-American superstar is somewhat critical of his performance.

"It was a crazy fight. I think me and Abbasov were both hurting after that fight was done. But it was a great night. I'm grateful that I was able to get my hand raised," he said.

"But of course, looking back, I still feel like I could've done much better in that fight. I feel like if I was fighting at my full potential that night, I could've finished him in the first round, but I had that early knockdown by Abbasov that set me back a little bit. It turned the fight into a war, which I was prepared for anyway."

Lee showed his mettle by enduring the heavy strikes of Abbasov, and he displayed his champion mindset when he flipped the fight on its head to get the win.

Combat sports fans around the world have debated and pondered about the magical formula the 24-year-old concocted to put on such a masterful performance, but he makes it clear that the victory came down to one thing - hard work.

"Being in the championship rounds is something different. It takes the training, having the cardio to push through when time comes down to it.

"But it also takes a tremendous amount of mental strength to just not give yourself any second to doubt your cardio. To not even take a second to overanalyze the fight. You just have to go on pure instincts and pure training," Lee said.

"So, when it came down to those championship rounds, it was everything that I've done in the training room just kicking in and taking over.

"Because when you're that exhausted and, in my case, having gotten knocked down in the first round, there's not so much thinking going on."

Now that he reigns over two divisions, Lee is a marked man. And as he looks ahead to 2023, he says he's ready for anyone. That said, the double-champ does have a few names on his radar across both weight classes.

"I feel like it's really clear who the next opponents are in front of me. I think that out of everybody, the three people I'm looking forward to fighting would be [lightweight] Saygid Izagakhmaev, [welterweight] Murad Ramazanov, and [welterweight] Roberto Soldic," Lee said.

"Right now, I think those are the three top guys within the two divisions, and I'm looking forward to facing one of them. It doesn't matter who first.

"For me, I try not to play matchmaker too much. I just go in there and do my job. So whoever they throw at me, I'm ready."

Source: Media Release