Christian “The Warrior” Lee (15-4) is fired up for his chance to reclaim the ONE lightweight world title in the main event at “ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee II” on August 26.
The Singaporean-American sensation will square off against divisional king Ok Rae Yoon (16-3) with the hope of evening the score against the South Korean superstar, who snatched the strap from him at “ONE: Revolution” last September.
Ahead of his return to the ONE circle, here’s four shocking facts fans should know about “The Warrior.”
1. He turned pro at 17
In December 2015, Lee became the youngest male athlete to debut in ONE Championship – and his promotional bow also marked his first professional MMA fight.
The teenage star was paired against David Meak in a featherweight bout. And though his opponent had bucketloads more experience than him, Lee dominated the Aussie on his way to his fastest career finish.
“The Warrior” scored with huge punches and kicks as soon as the contest got underway, and he followed up with a thumping left hook that forced Meak into reverse gear.
Lee kept up the pressure against the seasoned brawler, who could do nothing but retreat, and he tagged him with another stiff left hook to earn the finish just 29 seconds into the opening round.
2. “The Warrior” is the youngest male MMA world champion
Lee faced possibly his toughest career test in May 2019, when he moved up a division to challenge Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki for the lightweight crown.
Aoki was expected to breeze past his younger rival with ease, but Lee displayed tremendous heart, spirit, and a championship mindset to score a huge upset at “ONE: Enter the Dragon.”
The win didn’t come easy, though. Lee played second fiddle against the Japanese MMA legend in the grappling department for the majority of the opening frame. Aoki even worked into position and torqued Lee’s arm to some unnatural positions.
“The Warrior” refused to quit, however, and he came back with a stronger pace in the second stanza. He managed to diffuse a couple of takedown attempts, and then he advanced with a flurry of punches and two clean left hands to send Aoki down.
Lee followed up with a barrage of ground strikes to force referee Olivier Coste to halt the contest at the 51-second mark of round two, crowning the Singaporean-American the youngest male MMA world champion in history at 21 years old.
3. Lee owns two big records in ONE
Along with being the youngest-ever male MMA world champion, Lee also holds two significant records in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
The 24-year-old star has the most wins in ONE history (15) and the most finishes (14).
The only time Lee dropped his 100 percent finishing rate was against Dagi Arslanaliev in October 2019. Lee took the bout on short notice and defeated the Turkish star by unanimous decision to claim the ONE lightweight world grand prix title.
Should “The Warrior” earn another win and finish in the main event of ONE 160, he will extend both records and create an even larger gap between himself and the chasing pack.
4. He has wiped out some of the biggest stars on ONE’s roster
Lee has taken on a variety of MMA fighters in ONE, from grappling experts to wushu specialists, and he has come out on top on most occasions.
As a young buck in the featherweight division, “The Warrior” finished Japanese MMA veterans Kotetsu Boku, Kazunori Yokota and Kazuki Tokudome.
And in the lightweight division, the Singaporean-American star has continued his rise to the top with several career-defining performances.
Along with defeating Aoki and Arslanaliev, Lee has taken out the likes of Iuri Lapicus and Timofey Nastyukhin, both of whom were top-ranked contenders at that time.
If he can defeat Ok on August 26, Lee will showcase why he’s one of the best lightweight fighters on the planet.
