Rivalries: Christian Lee

Consider it a reclamation project for Christian Lee.

The Evolve MMA thoroughbred will challenge Rae Yoon Ok in a bid to recapture the One Championship lightweight title when their rematch headlines One 160 on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Neither man has fought since Ok dethroned “The Warrior” by unanimous decision at One “Revolution” on Sept. 24. The setback was Lee’s first in more than three years and closed the book on his six-fight winning streak.

As Lee moves toward his second encounter with the South Korean upstart, a look at a few of the other rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Kazunori Yokota

Lee announced his arrival as a true primetime player in One Championship when he submitted the former two-division Deep titleholder with a guillotine choke in the second round of their One “Visions of Victory” featherweight showcase on March 9, 2018 at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Yokota checked out 4:34 into Round 2. Lee established his superiority from the outset, the difference in speed and explosivity becoming more and more apparent as time ticked away. He dominated much of the first round with a variety of attacks, then executed a late takedown before achieving full mount in the waning seconds. Not much changed in the middle stanza. Lee struck for another takedown in the final minute, advanced toward the back, applied his ground-and-pound and caught the fight-ending guillotine in an ensuing scramble. The performance elevated him to the No. 1 contender spot for the One Championship featherweight crown.

Martin Nguyen

“The Situ-Asian” retained the One Championship featherweight title when he eked out a split decision over Lee in their One “Unstoppable Dreams” rematch on May 18, 2018 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. It was a back-and-forth affair in which neither man managed to build or maintain momentum. Lee raced out to a strong start, as he struck for a takedown, climbed to full mount and ultimately threatened the champion with brabo and guillotine chokes. The action between them stalled in the second and third rounds, where they were twice warned for timidity. Nguyen seized control with a takedown in the fourth and remained calm and composed in the face of steady but ultimately ineffective pressure from the challenger in the fifth, denying takedowns and leaning on clean counterpunching. He improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head series with Lee, having choked him unconscious with a guillotine in their first encounter some two years prior.

Edward Kelly

Revenge was a motivating factor for Lee at One “Eternal Glory,” where he rebounded from a controversial loss to the Lakay MMA rep and dispatched him with punches in the first round of their Jan. 19, 2019 rematch at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia. Kelly—who had been awarded a disqualification against “The Warrior” due to what was deemed to be an illegal suplex a little more than four months earlier—succumbed to blows 2:53 into Round 1. Lee wasted no time getting down to business, as he initiated a grappling exchange behind a head kick and trapped his counterpart in a guillotine. Kelly escaped but only prolonged the inevitable. Lee powered into full mount, supplemented crushing hip precious with ferocious ground-and-pound and went about exacting his vengeance. Elbows, punches and hammerfists fell until referee Kemp Cheng had seen enough. It was a rout in every sense of the word.

Shinya Aoki

Lee completed his transformation from prospect to organizational superstar under the One “Enter the Dragon” marquee on May 17, 2019, when he put away the legendary Japanese grappler with second-round punches at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Aoki bowed out 51 seconds into Round 2 and in doing so turned over the undisputed One Championship lightweight title to a man 15 years his junior. Lee withstood a harrowing first round in which he was mounted twice and found himself entangled in an armbar from “Tobikan Judan”—a man with one of the most venomous submission games in MMA history. However, he managed to draw Aoki deeper into the match and let his lethal hands do the rest. Early in Round 2, Lee backed up the well-traveled veteran with punches, eventually sat him down in the corner and closed the door with follow-up shots to the face.