Christian Lee provided his honest opinion about Alibeg Rasulov’s promotional debut.
On July 5, Rasulov fought under the ONE banner for the first time against former lightweight MMA world champion Ok Rae Yoon. The undefeated Turkish fighter utilized his strength and grappling skills to secure a unanimous decision win.
Later this week, Rasulov will headline ONE Fight Night 26 when he challenges Christian Lee for his ONE lightweight MMA world title. The Dec. 6 event is the first time Lee, a two-division king, has fought since November 2022.
During an interview with ONE, Lee was asked about Rasulov’s fight against Ok. ‘The Warrior’ had this to say:
“Well, I thought that he showed that he’s got a good heart. In my opinion, it looked like he got a little bit tired chasing the takedown in the first round because Ok has very good takedown defense and he was able to adjust in the moment. He turned it from a wrestling match to holding him against the ropes and just wearing him down and he was able to do that over five rounds and get the decision.”
ONE Fight Night 26 will take place inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Friday’s event featuring two world title fights can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
Alibeg Rasulov signed with ONE Championship after establishing a 13-0 professional MMA record. Rasulov’s fights outside of ONE weren’t against proven world-class opposition, but he silenced the doubters by defeating former champ Ok Rae Yoon.
Meanwhile, Christian Lee has fought on ONE’s global platform for nine years and proved himself repeatedly. ‘The Warrior’ has another opportunity to further his legacy by handing Rasulov his first professional MMA loss.
Last time out, Lee made history by defeating Kiamrian Abbasov to become a two-division MMA world champion (lightweight and welterweight). Following a two-year layoff due to a family tragedy, the 26-year-old plans to defend both his world titles and continue proving he’s one of the most talented fighters on the planet.
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