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NE Lightweight World Champion Christian Lee is seeking two-division glory on Nov. 19, when he challenges welterweight king Kiamrian Abbasov in the main event of ONE Fight Night 4 at the Singaporean Indoor Stadium.
The Singaporean-American superstar is one of the brightest mixed martial artists of his generation, holding a professional record of 16-4 and a staggering finishing rate of 94 percent.
Despite his impressive slate and laundry list of wins against challenging opponents, Lee is approaching his upcoming bout with the utmost respect for his rival.
“I think Abbasov’s greatest strength is the fact that he’s a well-rounded martial artist. He’s a very durable fighter. He’s got good cardio. I feel that he’s able to mix up his striking and his wrestling quite well, which is why he is the champion,” said Lee.
“So yeah, it’s definitely not going to be an easy fight for me. It’s not an easy fight for anybody. And I’m training really hard to make sure that I’m prepared for everything that Abbasov is going to bring to the table.”
Lee returns to the ONE Circle following his emphatic victory in August over Ok Rae Yoon at ONE 160. The 24-year-old reclaimed the lightweight strap by finishing the South Korean sensation, redeeming the controversial unanimous decision he suffered in last year’s bout against Ok.
Now brimming with confidence once again, Lee is ready to join the exclusive group of ONE athletes who have held two belts at the same time.
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But getting there will not be an easy feat. Abbasov is a proven force inside the Circle, as he is on a four-fight welterweight winning streak, which includes snatching the world title from Zebaztian Kadestam in 2019 and defending it against James Nakashima in 2020.
The wrestling expert has a 23-5 professional record and knows how to score a finish, with 15 of those victories coming by submission or knockout.
However, Lee is confident that the Kyrgyzstani-Russian challenger won’t last five rounds with him once the Circle door shuts on Nov. 19. In fact, he knows exactly how and when he’ll end the bout.
“Of course, my goal is always to finish my opponents in the first round. But technically speaking, giving Abbasov credit [for] how tough he is, I think that I’m going to end up wearing him down and submitting him in the third round,” he said.
Find out whether that turns out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy or not: Don’t miss ONE Fight Night 4: Abbasov vs. Lee on Saturday, Nov. 19, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster SG.
This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.