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(Exclusive) Christian Lee Talks Brother Adrian and Return at ONE Fight Night 26

Lee will step finally return to defend his lightweight belt in the main event of ONE Fight Night 26.

Drew Beaupre

(ONE Championship)

It’s been more than two years since fans last saw Christian Lee compete in ONE Championship, and the two-division titleholder recently spoke with MMA KO’s Drew Beaupré ahead of his return at ONE Fight Night 26.

Returning To Headline ONE Fight Night 26

Lee was originally set to defend his lightweight title against undefeated challenger Alibeg Rasulov at ONE 169 before the fight was moved to headline ONE Fight Night 26 on December 6, but that change has done nothing to alter how prepared “The Warrior” is for his return to action.

(Exclusive) Christian Lee Talks Brother Adrian and Return at ONE Fight Night 26
Lee hasn't fought since ONE Fight Night 4 in November 2022. / (ONE Championship)

“I’m feeling good, camp is going great. It’s been a long, tough camp, but I think that I put in all the work necessary to get the job done. And at this point, I’m excited. I’m just ready to go. That date’s been pushed back, the location has been changed. But the opponent’s stayed the same, and at this point I’m just looking forward to getting in that ring and doing what I’ve trained all this time to do…[ONE 169] ended up being a great one anyways, and with all the changes it’s just beyond my control. I’m not gonna spend any time being upset about things that are out of my hands. I just kept training, just added four weeks to my camp, and just kept going with the work.”

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"He's Lacking The Experience Of Competing At The Highest Level"

Rasulov is undefeated across 14 professional fights and is coming off a unanimous decision win in his ONE Championship debut against former lightweight titleholder Ok Rae Yoon, who took the lightweight belt via decision in 2021 before Lee stopped the South Korean in their rematch the following year.

“I think that Rasulov is a good opponent, he’s a very tough fighter. And he’s able to mix up his MMA game very well, he’s not just a stylistic wrestler for example. He can strike, he can mix it up, and I think that he’s had a lot of success in his career because of his ability to mix up the ranges to strike. He’s got a few knockout wins, he’s got a few submission wins, so he’s definitely very well-rounded. But I could see that in the Ok fight - he’s tough, he’s durable, but I think he’s lacking the experience of competing at the highest level. He’s only had one fight in ONE Championship, and although it was a great performance I do think that I have a big advantage in having that world class experience over him.”

Lee hasn’t competed since he won the ONE welterweight belt from Kiamrian Abbasov at ONE Fight Night 4 to become a two-division champion. The 26-year-old expects there to be some nerves come fight week for ONE Fight Night 26, but that’s nothing new at this stage of his career.

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“The nerves will always be there every fight - but the good nerves, not the tepid nerves that are gonna cripple you and slow you down. I’ve been in this game for almost ten years now, so for me, having the time off was actually a good break. Physically, mentally, I was able to just take some time away from the sport but continue my training, continue working hard. And so I feel like when I get in there again I’m gonna be a much better version of myself than last time when I stepped in there to win the welterweight belt. I’m just excited to go, I’m looking forward to going in there and just doing everything that I’ve been training to do. For me, it’s like all of this hard work, all of this training is in preparation for the fight night. So there’s like a saying with fighters, ‘You train hard, the camp is hard, and then the fight is gonna be easy.’ So for me, the fight is the fun part.”

Adrian Lee's Pro Debut & Future In ONE Championship

Being out of action himself doesn’t mean Lee hasn’t been training or attending ONE Championship events, and this year fans got to see his younger brother Adrian make his highly-anticipated debut in June before the 18-year-old also scored another stoppage-win in September.

“Adrian, he’s been doing amazing in his last two fights. I’m so proud to see his progress. He went from being a young 16-year-old kid, I was coaching him wrestling for high school, and then in a short time he was able to really work hard and go from being that young kid to being a professional fighter who’s ready to take on anyone in the division. I’m excited to see what’s gonna come next for him this upcoming year, and I’m definitely proud of all of the work that he’s put in. So for Adrian, there’s endless possibilities for his career.”

“I remember back when I was his age, 18 years old, fighting my first two fights. Like I remember all of that, and it’s great to see I can pass on everything I’ve learned from fighting at the same age he did, I can pass that on to him. I see next year, his career just taking off. And you know
for me, it’s just like – Adrian will never be competition for me. I think I see him working his way up to a title shot, and once he gets there we’ll settle it. I don’t even like to talk about it, to bring it up, to distract him. I don’t want him to have his eyes set on that yet. I just want him to stick to the plan, stick to his training. But assuming all goes according to plan, I think you’ll see the two of us holding the lightweight and welterweight belts next to each other.”

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"I Truly Love What I Do"

“The Warrior” has already accomplished more at 26 years old than most fighters do in their entire careers, and ahead of his long-awaited return Lee says its his family and a deep love for martial arts that pushes him to keep reaching new heights.

(Exclusive) Christian Lee Talks Brother Adrian and Return at ONE Fight Night 26
Lee after reclaiming the lightweight MMA belt at ONE 160. / (ONE Championship)

“For me, what motivates me is like starting at the root of everything is just, the hard work I put in is just for my family. I mean I’m providing for my wife, my two kids, I’ve got another baby, another son coming January next year. And so for me, it’s just – I like to take the approach of like working as hard as I possibly can at this time in my life where I can. And so I like to put the pressure on myself as if I haven’t made it, as if I haven’t won both of the titles. I always just think that there’s room to improve, there’s room to work harder, and so with everything that I’ve accomplished in the sport, I still feel to this day like I’m a contender, like I have everything to prove when I step in there. The motivation for me is just continuing to work as hard as I possibly can to set my family up, to provide for them, and that’s the driving force. And aside from that, I truly love what I do. I’m a martial artist at heart. When I get up in the morning, I go to work, but I love my work. I love the work that I do, and so it definitely helps when you’re putting in the hard work it helps to enjoy what you’re doing.”

Welterweight Title Defense & Fighting In The United States

Lee currently has a major test in front of him when he meets Rasulov at ONE Fight Night 26, but provided everything goes well in that fight he’s eager to get back into action next year to defend his welterweight title and potentially finally fight in the United States.

“Immediately after this fight, going into next year I’ll be looking to defend my welterweight belt. So right after this fight, just packing the weight on and getting ready for that. But I plan on staying busy, so I like to just take it one step at a time. So after this fight I’ve got the welterweight title to defend, and from there I just wanna see my options, really see what makes the most sense. I definitely plan on staying active, so it’s not – I won’t be waiting it out just seeing after my next title defense what the next step would be from there.”

(Exclusive) Christian Lee Talks Brother Adrian and Return at ONE Fight Night 26
Retaining his status as a two-division champion would leave Lee with plenty of options in 2025. / (ONE Championship)

“In all the years I never cared where I fought, but I definitely would like to fight on one of the U.S. cards. My whole career I spent fighting overseas in Asia, I’m so excited now that [ONE Championship is] coming to the U.S. I had my whole family buy their tickets down to Atlanta [for ONE 169], and unfortunately it got changed, I had to let them know that. I’m just excited, ‘cause you know – the U.S. is my home. I’m happy to represent Singapore, I did early in my career, but now that they’re coming over to the U.S. I mean like – people would come up in Hawaii and be like ‘Oh, you live here?’, and I’m like ‘Yeah, I’ve lived here my whole life.’ So I’m excited for ONE Championship to bring the show over here to the U.S., and just wherever it is here in the States, I’ll be happy to fly out there and fight.”

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“All the fans, I just appreciate the support over the years. I’m never on social media, I’m never giving updates, but I promise every time I step in there I’m training as hard as I can to go out there and put on a show for everybody. So I appreciate all the support from everybody over the years, and I’m just looking forward to going in there and putting on a show for everybody.”

Lee vs. Rasulov will headline ONE Championship's final card of the year at ONE Fight Night 26, which takes place at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on December 6.

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Drew Beaupre
DREW BEAUPRE

Drew is an MMA writer that regularly watches regional events in addition to major promotions such as the UFC, PFL, Bellator, and ONE Championship. He joined MMA Knockout when it was founded in 2023.

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